Wild Ways
by Thing3
Summary: "Danger always seems to follow you." He said. "We're like smoke and fire that way." I replied. Miya Parker was found as a child in Bangkok with lots of mysteries. She has a power that she can't control and has to move to the Maxville orphanage so she can attend Sky High. There she meets the gang and her horrible past starts to unveil itself. W/OC. T for language and violence.
1. A Beggining

**A/N. Hello this is my second ever Sky High fic. I just coldn't resist this one. The power hit me and I got too excited and started planning. So here is another one for you. If I get good feedback I will update. So please review! Hope you enjoy! xxx**

_**Disclaimer-I do NOT own Sky High or any of the characters you regocnise.**_

**WildWays**

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**A Beginning**

"Miya?"

My mind was blurry with the last remnants of my dream slipping away, soon vanishing to nothing I could remember. It was a good dream though. However, I didn't like dreams very much. Even the good ones. They reminded me how poorly reality is in comparison.

"Miyaaa?" A voice said.

Someone grabbed my shoulder and started shaking me.

"Mmm?" I mumbled.

"Miyaaaa. Get uuup." The voice said.

"I hate mornings." I groaned under my breath as I sat up.

Rolling over to face her, I glanced at the source of the voice through squinted eyes, the sun not allowing them to open more than a slit or the light might burn them. And was rather surprised to find a little girl was kneeling on the end of my bed excitedly. Her hair was a tangled, frizzy afro at the top of her head that hid her eyes. From the bit's of face I could see, her cheeks were covered in freckles and hid her skin. She was wearing pyjamas with printed unicorns on them.

"Me too." The girl giggled. "But not when it's first-day-of-school day!" She squealed and got up to jump on my bed. I winced when she jumped on my ankle, but it was hard not to smile at the small girl.

All of a sudden, the girl fell at the end of my bed to sit cross-legged and face me. She was wearing a wide, cheeky grin that showed off her two missing teeth at the front of her mouth. And I bet her eyes were wide open with excitement too. "Are you excited?" She asked.

No. But I didn't want to ruin her obvious expectations. "Yeah. I'm really excited." I smiled, sitting up.

"I'm Edith by the way." She smiled, "I'm six."

A tall blonde quickly walked over and picked Edith up. "I'm really sorry." She turned to me, "She get's excited on first day of school," She turned her head to speak to Edith, "She also doesn't listen when we tell her that new people don't like being harassed by little children first thing in the morning." Edith smiled cheekily then buried her head into the girl's blonde hair. "Sorry," she said, turning back to me, "I'm Bella"

Bella was pale with striking blue eyes and dark eyebrows. Her face was even, smooth and didn't have a single imperfection. She had tall, skinny legs and a small waist. She looked like she had been pulled out of some magazine. Or be put into one, either way.

"I'm Miya." I smiled up to her, still squinting slightly. "And that's alright, it looks like I needed someone to wake me up anyways. I probably slept through my alarm."

Bella giggled and put Edith down, who immediately scurried away and to some younger looking girls in our dorm. "I'll leave you to it." She said, "If you need anything just ask." She said sweetly and turned to go get ready herself.

I rolled out of bed and rubbed my eyes, still heavy from sleep. Mornings had never... appealed to me so much. Especially those mornings when you just-moved-orphange-and-you're-going-to-a-new-scho ol-where-you-dont-know-anyone-and-you-know-you're- going-to-have-to-do-it-all-over-again kind of morning. God I hate those.

I blindly reached for my hairbrush on my bedside table and started tugging out the knots. Once it finally fell into it's long, dark brown curls, I pulled on some jeans that were rolled up at the bottom because they were too big for me and put on a tank top and dirty-white converse.

I grabbed my shoulder bag and left the dorm to go down the many oak steps two at a time. Once I finally reached the ground floor, I wasn't really in the mood to go sit down and have an awkward breakfast with people I didn't know yet. So I walked in to the cafeteria to grab a muffin, then turned back to cross the marble-floored lobby and out the large oak-doors. The wind instantly hit me, knocking me slightly off balance. A quick chill ran down my spine and I shivered slightly, wishing I had taken a jacket.

The tree's on either side of the road were a mixture of dull browns and yellow; the colours of autumn turning to winter.

I watched all of the girls from the orphanage walk off to the right, towards the bus stop to the local school. Sighing, I turned my back on them and walked left. I was going to start a different school than all of those girls. First day of the second semester. But it was a different school for a reason. The same reason I moved to Maxville in the first place.

When I had heard that there was a _school_ for _teenagers_ who had _superpowers_, I had laughed so hard I had thought I was going to die from hysteria. But apparently, it was true. And apparently, I had to enlist because my powers could be 'dangerous', especially when I didn't know how to control them.

I stopped at an empty bus stop just in time to see the typical, bright yellow school bus round the corner and come to stop at my feet. For such an irregular school, they had a very regular school bus. As I walked up the steps, the carpet was worn and dirty with bit's of gum compressed into it that must have been there for years. The door shut behind me and the driver leaned in towards me.

"Sky High?" He whispered.

"I think so."

"You can't 'think so' to be able to get any further. Yes, or no?" He asked.

I raised a tentative brow, "Um. Yes?"

The bus driver broke into a wide grin and nodded, "Nice to meet'cha. Climb aboard."

I smiled hesitantly back at him and went down the aisle to sit at the back of the bus. I stretched my legs out so they were over the row of seats and watched the scenery roll outside as we went by stop after stop, more people got on. And soon, the racket on the bus suggested that it was close to full. But it was only when a large shadow fell over my body did I look up.

A dark-haired boy in a black leather jacket stood in front of me. His dark eye's were glaring spitefully into mine and his forehead crinkled in frustration. I stared back at him and his face hardened.

"Don't stare too hard, the radiance my body emits due to it's engrossing beauty might blind you." I said dryly.

"You're sitting in my seat." He growled deeply.

"Oh. Is that why you're staring at me as if I stole the only your only joy in life?" I teased.

The boy glared at me. "Move." He sneered, almost too quiet to hear.

"Move what?" I asked teasingly.

"Do you know who I am?" He snarled quietly. "Get your ass off-"

"Whoa. Warren. We just met." I said sarcasticly. "Don't you think it's a bit soon-"

"So you do know who I am then?" He growled.

"No." I replied. "It says on your rucksack."

He instinctively looked down at the bag hanging lazily off his shoulder.

"Get out or I'll make you." He snarled. I blinked when I thought I saw smoke coming off of his shoulders.

I opened my mouth to reply but changed my words at the last second, "I would actually quite like to see that."

Warren opened his mouth in reply when the bus decided to make a sudden stop and Warren stumbled backwards.

"Peace! Sit down!" The driver shouted.

If stares could kill, I would be dead from the glare he gave me just then. He then sat down in the row in front of me. I smiled triumphantly.

We stopped at several more stops. I observed everyone from the back. There was Warren in front of me. Then there was a guy in bright yellow tracksuit in the middle, sitting next to a girl in purple. A couple were sitting oppostie them. A ginger in green and a boy in red, white and blue, Flag boy. Behind them was a nerdy looking guy in orange. And at the front were a bunch of typical freshmen, girls and boys.

I was deep in thought when we suddenly came to a road in consrtuction that hadn't finished being built. We were driving straight on it. The driver seemed unfazed, as did the teenagers on the bus. Some were actully smiling when they looked out the window.

My eyes were growing wider when we neared the end of the bridge. I shut them when I felt the bus falling. This was it. I was going to die. I couldn't hear the kids screaming. The thumping in my ears was too loud to hear anything over. My heart desperately banged against my ribcage. I was going to die. I was going to die. I was goi-

Suddenly, the bus lurched forward and I could feel a vague swooping sensation. I opened my eyes and look out of the window. All I could see was sky. It didn't feel like we were falling though. It felt quite the opposite. It felt like we were...

I turned to look out the back window and -sure enough- the bus had apparently grown massive jets with roaring blue flames and we were flying.

Flying bus. Right. Should have guessed.

Recovering from the thought of death, I noticed Warren was looking at me. His lips were slightly tugged up at one side. I mentally cursed as I realised how amusing my reaction must have been. I glared at him, which made his lips grow into a full smirk.

I really wish I hadn't, but it was contagious and I was too releived with the feeling of _not_ dyeing, I smiled a little. Then I turned back to the window, my hair covering my face.

It was rather surreal watching the clouds rolling passed the window, I didn't come out of my trance until I saw a floating platform.

Can I just repeat that and emphasise the word '_floating'._ _That_ was awesome. My school could fly.

The bus landed rather roughly on the ground of the school. I got off when everyone else had and stood on the pathway to the enormous building. I pretended not to be fazed so I didn't stand out too much on my first day.

Not sure what to do, I walked along the path that was between two lawns and into the school. Once I had got the ridiculously-heavy and overly-large doors open, I looked around for some kind of hint of a direction. I stopped, which was a bad idea.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." A boy said as he crashed into me.

"No it's okay. Sorry, I shouldn't of stopped." I said to Flag boy who was next to the green girl, who smied at me.

They started to walk in a different direction. I ran up to them and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Um. Sorry." I said when he turned around. "But do you know where I have to go? I'm new."

"Oh. That's okay." Flag boy said.

"If you go down that corridoor, the reception is on he left." Green girl said.

"Thanks." I smiled.

I turned to go down the corridor she had pointed. I was almost crushed by the flow of students rushing to get to their first lesson of the day.

The receptionist looked sweet and was sitting innocently behind her computer screen.

"Hi. I'm new. I-ur. I don't know where to go."

"What year are you in?" The receptionist asked.

"I'm a sophomore."

"Go to the gym. Then come back when your allowed to." She said with a rehearsed smile.

I smiled back and went in the direction she had routed out.

Opening the gym doors I saw three teenagers there. All freshmen. I guessed there would've been more on the first day of last semester.

"So, as I was saying." The guy who was on a raised platform said, getting everyone to turn their heads from me and back to him. He must of been the school coach, judging by what he was wearing.

The man announced that his name was Coach Boomer and that this was power placement. He would assess your power and decide wether it was good enouh to be a Hero, or if it was expendable enough to be a sidekick or 'hero support'.

"You. Up here." He barked and pointed at a boy at the front. He was a nerdy looking boy and had long blonde hair with thick glasses.

"Name?" Boomer asked him when he got on stage.

"James Hackleburry." He mumbled.

"Power?"

"Urm. Telekenisis." He said.

Boomer looked at him blankly, then grabbed a walky talky-thingy and barked into it, "Car."

The roof parted and a car fell from the sky. The other teens were unfazed. I, however, was a little more than fazed.

James flung his hand up and it suddenly stopped falling and stayed in mid-air. I watched the floating car in awe and then at the boy who just broke a few million laws of physics.

"Hero." Boomer said boredly. He probably saw a lot of telekenetics.

"You. Up. Now." He said to a blonde girl in plaits. Pretty.

"Name?"

"Eliza Burnett." She said calmly.

"Power?"

"I can heal."

"Sidekick. Useful. But not in battle. You could come once the war is fought and there is blood and carnage to be cleaned." He said. The girl shrugged and walked off. "Next. You. Up." Boomer pointed at me.

I sighed and walked up, bracing myself to be able to tell him I couldn't show him my power. That it was too dangerous.

"Name?"

"Miya Parker"

"Miya Parker? Oh." He mumbled something I couldn't hear, something about a teacher saying something? "Hero."

I turned to walk off the platform. Don't get me wrong, I was confused. Deeply.

How come I didn't have to show my power? What did some teacher say about me to be able to get me into Hero class? How did any teacher know-

I stopped myself thinking. I couldn't get myself more confused than I already was. I couldn't be 'too' any emotion. An overload of any sort of any emotion and my powers would act up.

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**A/N So. I know this one hasn't got much hapenning. Just bare with. It WILL get more interesting. I just had to get her to school first.**

**Please review! I will reply at the bottom of my next chapter. Xxxxxx**


	2. Skills

**A/N. Something has gone really wrong in the formatting of this chapter. I don't know if it will be normal when I post it, but incase it dosen't, this chapter is longer than it looks.**

**Please R&R.**

**Enjoy...xxx**

**Wild Ways**

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**Skills**

After Power Placement, all us newbies were sent to get our schedules from reception. I scanned it quickly. I almost laughed at how different some of the lessons were to what I was used to. Power Development, Hero Safety, Health and Hazards, Hero History, Hero Humanities, Mad Science, Save the Citizen.

However, my first lesson of the day was a normal one (and the only normal one I happened to be good at).

Following the map printed conveniently onto the back of my schedule, I made my way to room 206 and tapped lightly on the door before opening it slightly.

"Hello?" The teacher who was posed holding a board pen in front of the white-board asked.

"Hi," I greeted faintly. "I'm new. I got put in the sophomore Hero class?" I said slowly, reading it off the top of my schedule.

"What's your name?" The teacher smiled.

"Miya Parker."

The teacher's expression wavered slightly. I swear it did. But it was gone too quickly to have been able to see what it meant."Take a seat Ms. Parker." He smiled again. "My name's Mr. Anson."

Flashing a faint smile back I walked to the back of the classroom with my head bowed.

I couldn't see them (because I was looking at the floor) but I could feel the stares from my new classmates as I walked to the back and slumped into the only seat left. I could feel my cheeks getting hotter from all the unwanted attention and pulled out my sketchbook from my shoulder bag. Drawing helped me calm down when I thought my emotions were going overload and I was in danger of my powers acting up. But it wasn't a bad thing, I quite liked drawing.

It was only when I finally felt calmer did I start paying attention to Mr. Anson's words. I like math (for no reason other than I was good at it) and started to write down the notes he was writing on advanced trigonometry.

We all waited while the teacher tried to work his calculator to figure out the example question. "No. Not working. Mr. Jackson, could you just type the square root of four hundred and forty one?" Mr. Anson asked.

A boy in the front row pulled out his calculator from his backpack.

I stared at the ceiling and bit my lip as I thought for a second, carrying the numbers. Then I looked down and scribbled twenty one into my notebook.  
"Twenty one." The boy announced a second after I had written it down.

Mr. Anson paused and looked at me over his glasses. "Thank you Mr. Jackson. So if that's twenty one then that must be one-" He was interrupted when the bell rang.

An hour of Hero History, half an hour of lunch and another half hour of nothing later, I walked towards the gym for skills development. I wondered if those skills were super or normal.

It turned out that it was both. Coach Boomer had told us to get into our gym kit and explained that, in this lesson, we would learn more about are powers and other physical skills. Like fighting or stamina. He told us that, today, we would be working on our powers and should get into the pairs we were in in the last semester.

I sighed.

"And that person who didn't have a pair last time, we have a new recruit." Boomer shouted before everyone went off to go fin their pair, "We now have an even number. So now you do have a pair." Boomer said, dismissing everyone to go off and practice their powers on their friends.

Looking around for the person who didn't have a pair, I realised it was useless because they were all new faces and I hadn't a clue who I was trying to look for.

Someone sighed from behind me. I spun on my heels to face leather boy. We looked at each other for a minute. Then he nodded his head in a direction. I nodded slightly in agreement and reluctantly followed him to a corner of the gym.

He spun on his heel and looked at me with an unreadable expression on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"Well?" He said.

"Well what?" I asked exasperatedly.

He shrugged. "What's your power?"

"Oh." I said, biting my lip - a nervous habit, "Shape-shifting?"

"Okay. Into what?" He pushed.

"An animal."

He rolled his eyes, "What animal?"

I furrowed my brows, "Ur... I don't know." He cocked a brow. "I mean, loads. I just don't know if there are any I can't turn into. I haven't, ur, practised that much."

"So. Any animal?" He asked. I nodded. He looked as though he were impressed. "Okay then. So-"

"But." I blurted, interrupting him. He rolled his eyes. "I can't use it."

"And why might that be?" He asked.

I bit my lip harder. "Well. I can't control what I shift into. It will choose by what emotion I feel."

He furrowed his brows. "So how come you're not an animal now?"

"Because I have these-." I trailed off, not knowing a word. "Barriers? Internal shields that I block my power with. But sometimes, if I feel an emotion strong enough, it can spill over and, depending on what I'm feeling, I will gain a little feature of an animal."

"So if you were overly happy with your shields up?"

"I would grow bunny ears or something."

"If you were angry with your shields down?"

"I would become a full tiger or a gorilla, and my anger would increase."

He smirked at the mental image of me as a gorilla.

"When did you develop it?" He asked out of the blue.

"Oh. About three months ago." I said quietly. I was a bit embarrassed when I had realised that most of the people here got them years ago.

"Well then it probably won't work like that once you can control it." He assured.

"What do you mean?" I asked, eye brows raised.

"Well. You have no control over it, you got them recently and you haven't practiced. So with practice, maybe you'll be able to." He shrugged.

"Okay. So how do we start?"

"Take them down."

I looked up at him. "What? But if I get angry or-."

"Just do it." He glared at me, ending my protest.

I shut my mouth and glared back at him.

"Fine. But if anything happens. It's your fault."

I closed my eyes before he could say anything else. I felt my power, like a lump at the back of my mind, and pushed it forward. I opened my eyes.

Leather boy - who I still didn't know the name of looked startled as I opened my eyes.

"What?" I asked, trying very hard to keep my emotions neutral.

"Your eyes just darkened. They're a really dark purple." He said unhelpfully.

Curious, I turned around instinctively trying to find a mirror. But before I could 360, I started to shrink and grow black fur. Within a second, I was a foot tall, black cat.

It felt relaxing and lighter. Like I had lifted a ton of weights off my back.

"You really don't have much control." He stated annoyingly - as if I didn't know that already. "You were curious now you're a cat. It makes sense." I turned around sharply to face Warren, who sounded much louder with my cat ears.

I tried to speak, but it came out with a strained meow. I inwardly groaned. How the hell was I meant to turn back into a human?

"Try thinking selfish thoughts." He helped, as if reading my mind - which he could very-well be able to do for all I knew.

Put on the spot, I couldn't think of anything selfish. I thought of my eyes and how I liked the colour. And my hair. I really couldn't think of anything other than that on the spot.

After a while, Warren spoke up again, "Okay. Try something clever. Smart."

I instantly thought of math problems. Working them out in my head.

Eventually, I could feel myself grow taller.

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**A/N. Hey. I had to delete a lot of this chapter so it's shorter than it was originally. So sorry it's short. And looking back at this, I know it's kind of boring, just bare with. Around the fith chapter it starts getting better.**

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**~Review Reply~**

**uzuz365- ****_Thanks. I'm really glad you liked it. I promise you it will get better though. Just has a slow beggining_** xxxx


	3. Working Around

**A/N. I admit that this is going rather slowly. But I ****_promise_**** that I have an awesome line and it will get better. I just feel like I need to include some bits.**

**So please tell me what you think. Please?**

**Enjoy...xxxx**

**Wild Ways**

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**Working Around**

The next morning I lay in bed and watched the dark clouds roll along the sky through the rain-blurred window. The rain lashed down on it, hammering like the merciless drumming of nails.

Although it was miserable outside, the bright room I was in was far from miserable with the morning chaos that came from going to school each day. I preferred our room to the others. It was on the top floor so if any of the girls from another room needed a hairbrush or something, they would go to a room closer to their own and ask. It was a lot more private in the attic room. And there were less people. The only down side I could think of was the many stair cases you had to endlessly climb up and down.

I quickly dressed in a tank top, black skinny jeans, a denim jacket and my only pair of shoes- dirty white converse before i went downstairs to grab a bagel and sit at a randomly chosen table. I looked up when the shadow of a person drew across the table.

"Hi." I said, frantically trying to remember her name.

Bee, Belle. Bella!

"Hey!" She said enthusiastically. "Can I sit here?"

"Mmhm." I said gesturing to a place.

"How are you enjoying school? You go to a different one don't you?" She asked kindly.

"Yeah. I go to the local private one. It's what my parents wanted." I recited my excuse I had been assigned.

"Oh that's cool. You like it?" She smiled.

"Hmm. It's big. And different..." I trailed off.

"N'aww. Don't worry. It will warm up to you." She said with a sympathetic smile. "Come on. We should probably go." She said getting up.

We grabbed are bags and walked out the door of the orphanage. The rain battered down on me like a hail of bullets. I pulled my jacket over my stomach for warmth.

"See you this evening." She said with a little wave as she hurried right and I went left.

When the bus came I decided to not sit at the back this time, I thought best to probably avoid another confrontation with Warren as much as possible. So I sat next to a window in a middle row.

A few stops later, green girl, Flag boy, Highlighter boy, purple girl and orange guy got on. Flag boy and green girl sat in the row next to mine. I pretended to not notice them as I looked out the window.

"Hi." Green girl said. I turned to face her. "I'm sorry. I didn't introduce myself yesterday. I'm Layla. I can manipulate plants" She said and discreetly elbowed flag boy.

"I'm Will," he said, "I'm super strong and can fly."

I nodded at them and realised it was my turn. "Oh, I'm Miya." I stuttered, "I shape-shift." I added, a slightly delayed.

Purple girl suddenly moved her head to look at me. "I shape-shift too." She smiled, "What into?" She asked me.

"Animals." I replied.

"I was only blessed with the form of a guinea pig." She said dryly, her lips turning up into a smile.

"Miya is such a nice name." Layla chimed in.

"Thanks. I chose it myse-." I stopped myself and looked for something to change the subject, "What's your name?" I asked purple girl, trying to cover up my mistake.

"Magenta." That's a cool name. I smiled. "This is Zach." She said, elbowing highlighter boy next to her who looked up at the sound of his name.

"Hey. I glow." he said.

"Glow?" I asked.

Zach's eye's lit up, "Yeah! My body, like, emits a, like, radiating glow. It's so cool! You have to see it some-"

"And that's Ethan" Magenta interrupted, "he melts." She said, gesturing to orange boy who was frowning at his phone and frantically pushing keys into it.

I was about to introduce myself when the bus lurched off the side of the bridge. This time I felt the seatbelts come up around me as my stomach did somersaults. I shut my eyes. I _hated_ this flying-bus thing. When I opened them again, the falling sensation stopped and we lurched into the air. The kids around me were unfazed.

We landed rather roughly on the school ground again. I got off the bus as quickly as I could (and possibly pushing someone to the floor in doing so... it was an accident. I swear.) and onto ground to go to my locker. My schedule said that I had 'Mad science'.

Wondering how 'mad science' differed to regular science for it to have a 'mad' in front of it, I walked down the corridors to room 103 - like said on my schedule - and opened the door. The teacher had is back towards me and looked as though he was about to start. As I walked in, he turned to face me. I looked at him and stumbled back. I actually _stumbled_ back at the sight of my teacher. I could feel my cheeks grow hotter as the embarrassment of my actions hit me in the face.

I heard some of the sophomores giggle. My blush deepened. I tired to calm them before I started to grow black fur (I had learnt from experience that embarrassment meant shifting into a possum).

"You must be Ms. Parker. Yes?" The teacher said.

I nodded. Still fazed by the _gigantic_ head he carried on his normal-sized neck.

"I'm Mr. Medulla." I could swear that was a part of the kidney? And the brain - oh. That made sense now. "I will be your Mad Science teacher. Would you like to take a seat? I'm afraid that everyone already paired up last semester, but luckily there was an odd number. Are you okay with pairing with Mr. Peace? He will be along in a moment." I shrugged. I couldn't really say no though could I? "He sits at the back on the right."

I followed his eyes to an empty lab table and made my way over. Drooping my shoulder bag on the side, I sat on the uncomfortable chair.

I saw Warren walk in. He turned around, heading to his normal desk, when he spotted me. He stopped and made a point at glaring at me. Then rolled his eyes and reluctantly made his way over. He sighed as he plopped into the seat next to me.

The bell went off and Medulla started his lecture. Half an hour through- he had drawn several little diagrams on the board about the structure of some gun? I had _no_ idea what the hell he was on about the whole time. I thought of how lost Bambi must have felt in the forrest fire, then compared it to my mental confusion of this lesson.

Medulla stopped writing on the board and went to a cupboard to collect a stack of boxes, then started handing out different boxes to different tables. He put a blue one on our desk. I peeked at it and saw lots of wires and bits of metal. It looked like a robot had puked.

"What are we doing?" I whispered to my partner. The boy just started grabbing bits of pieces from the box we had been given and started putting them together, _completely_ ignoring me.

He had made what looked like a handle when I finally got bored. I started tapping my pencil on the desk.

"Can you stop that?" He growled.

I blinked and put the pencil down.

"What are you making?" I asked him after another long silence.

"Heat ray." He said bluntly.

"Aren't I meant to be doing that too?" I asked, looking around at all the other pairs.

"Do you know how?" He asked.

"No."

"Well then how were you planning on doing so?" He said, still not looking at me.

I shrugged, getting his point and looking out the window again. About half an hour of day-dreaming had slowly floated by when I saw Mr. Medulla walk up out the corner of my eye. I turned back around to Warren's work. It was pretty impressive. He had already finished.

"Let's try it." Medulla said. Warren passed the heavy gun to me and held out his arm. I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he meant. "Go on Ms. Parker." Medulla pushed.

I looked at him quizzically, "Won't it burn him?" I asked, clearly confused.

Medulla smiled. "Don't worry. Mr. Peace bears the power of pyrokinesis."

My look of confusion deepened. "Pyroki-what?"

Warren rolled his eyes. I could see Medulla was about to explain when Warren cut him off by clicking his fingers. Fire emerged from the tips and seemed to emit from them. I backed away instinctively."I'm a pyrokinetic. I can create, control and absorb fire. And not get burnt." He explained nonchalantly.

"Oh." I said, finally understanding.

"Would you like to try now Ms. Parker?" Medulla pushed, sensing his lesson coming to an end. I nodded and aimed at Warren's arm with the heavy gun. A red beam shot out and hit his skin. It made a sickening sizzling sound, like cooking bacon. Steam rose off and I was about to take my finger off the trigger when I saw that no mark had been made to his skin.

Medulla smiled and wrote something onto his clipboard. "Well done Mr. Peace. And don't worry Ms. Parker. I didn't expect you to be able to do that yet. Could you see me briefly after class?" I nodded.

When the bell rang soon after, the class left the room and I went up to the front of the class to meet Medulla. He went into a cupboard and bought out a very thick textbook.

"That's all you missed. Read that and you will be at the same standard. Tell me if you don't understand anything."

I gaped open-mouthed at the thumping big textbook.

"Don't worry. There are a lot of pictures." He 'assured' (note the inverted commas). "That will be all Ms. Parker."

Bewildered, I nodded and left with the great book under my arm.

* * *

Languages was a breeze. Don't ask me why - because I could quite honestly not be able to tell you the answer - but I was fluent in a few languages. English, French, German, Russian, Arabic and Spanish. People are always confused as to why I know them. And why I don't know how I know them. But I just do. I really don't know how. Part of the mystery that is my life.

After having grabbed some food at the counter of the cafeteria after languages, I turned around and frowned at the weather. I had enjoyed sitting outside the day before. And, apparently, all the people who had also liked sitting outside, had had to come in also. So there were no spare tables. Resulting in me aimlessly pondering through the cafeteria, unsure of where to sit.

"Miya." I heard, and turned around to a waving hippie.

I nodded to her in acknowledgment. She responded with a smile and a 'come here' gesture.

I walked over to Layla.

"You can eat here if you want." She smiled.

I shrugged. "Okay."

Layla and Zach parted as they made room for me to sit down with them.

"So. Whereabouts do you live?" Zach asked.

"Oh." I said as I realised he was talking to me. "Oh. Um… Brook - Brook something." I said, unsure.

"Brookstone lane or Brookway road?" Will asked.

"Oh. I don't know. Which one is worse?" I asked.

"Hmm. I don't know. But you probably live on Brookstone lane. There isn't much estate on Brookway." Will said. I shrugged, from that description, I knew know I lived on Brookway. But I didn't have to say so.

"Did you just move here then?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. I only just got my power and was transferred here." I replied.

"Where did you live before?"

"I travelled a lot. I've never really _lived_ in one place since I was six." I said, and then flinched. Why did I say that?

"Where did you live when you were six?" Zach asked curiously.

If only I knew. I had asked myself that question so many times before.

"Not somewhere you would know." I worked my way around smoothly.

Zach frowned and I earned some curious looks but I think they got the message because they carried on another conversation. I almost sighed with relief; I hated talking about a subject I didn't know the answer to. Especially one I really _wanted_ to know the answer to.

* * *

**A/N. Next one should be up tonight because I know i really need to get into the story line more.**

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**Stargazer1364- ****_Hey. Nice to hear from you here. And yeah. But they'll be cool. I've got it all planned. Xxxx_**


	4. Textbook

**A/N. Wow im tired now. Im going to go to bed now i've done this. I might write another one tommorrow. So look out.**

**Please, please review.**

**Enjoy...xxxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Textbook**

* * *

I walked into Languages and sat at the back. We were handed a self-assessment sheet - the teacher having forgotten to give them out in the first lesson back.

It was stuff like '_Are you confident with languages? How many do you know? What would you like to learn this semester? What would you like to improve on? What do you think you know well?_'

I only really wanted to improve on my Japanese because I had started it in my last school. But that wasn't in the curricular here. And the ones that were, I already knew.

Once I had finished filling out my sheet, I caught Warren taking a peek at it. Self-consciously, I was about to cover it from his view but the bell went before I got the chance.

In the corridor I looked at my schedule and at my next lesson, a one I hadn't had before. Save the Citizen? Does that even sound like a subject?

It looked like a lot of people had it, they were all heading in the same direction, the gym.

It turned out that 'Save the Citizen' involved every year group. The gym had an enclosed arena surrounded by Plexiglas. Inside was covered in fake grass and made to look like a very fake-looking park made up of bins, a bench and a couple of lamp posts. However, unlike normal parks there was a mass of huge rotating razors that came up from the ground in the centre of the arena. It had a dummy dangling threateningly on a rope above it which I guessed was the 'citizen'.

Once everyone was out on the bleachers and changed, I walked over to the gang and asked them what it was all for. They explained that ti was a game. There were two villains, two heroes. The two heroes had to save the citizen within the time limit, the villains being their obstacles. They also mentioned that Will wasn't here because Warren and Will were the remaining champions from last semester, undefeated.

It was quite entertaining really. People might think it was horrible. But I found it rather amusing - not in a disgusting, gruesome way. I just liked watching everyone use their powers. It was so… unnatural. And awesome.

Warren and Will both fought two seniors, one with telepathic powers and one with laser vision. I didn't quite know how the school was aloud to do it legally, they must have a really high boundary for Health and Safety hazards. I bring this up because, by the end of it, a senior had a broken arm and the other one had some large burns and the arena looked as if the apocalypse had been and gone.

It turns out (I really wouldn't have guessed) that Will and Warren are good friends. Will looked exactly like a guy Warren wouldn't be caught dead with as a friend. But they worked really well together in the arena. I guess opposites attract.

After they had won (again) and a few more rounds were fought, the bell went. I was surprised to hear it, the session had gone much faster than any of my other lessons had. But I got up and changed with Mag and Layla. When we came out, the rest of the group, and Warren were waiting for us and we walked to lunch together. Warren and Will were chatting on the way there, they were joking about something that had happened last semester. Layla looked at me and noticed that I was struggling to keep up with the conversation.

"Oh. Of corse," Layla said, "Miya wasn't there."

"Oh, yeah!" Zach said. "Well basically. Last semester at homecoming, there was a girl who was actually a super villain, Royal Pain, and tried to turn everyone - including Will's parents - into babies. And we all stopped her before the school fell and crushed everything beneath it."

My eyes flung open. How could he say that so nonchalantly? I really don't know.

"Who are your parents?" I asked Will.

"The Commander and Jetstream." He answered.

"Who are they?" I asked - still eating

Zach, who was gulping his squash, did the most awesome spit take I have ever seen. Luckily he did it on the floor.

"Like, _the_ best super heroes out there." Ethan spluttered. "How have you not heard of them?"

Everyone, but Will (who was blushing), was giving me disbelieving stares. Even Warren was, slightly.

"Did I ever tell you guys I travelled a lot?" I tried.

"Yeah. Still. How could you not have heard of them?" Zach asked in shock.

I tried not to obviously pause as I thought of a way how to answer this without raising too many questions. "I've never had a TV." I tried with a shrug. I started to eat while the others still glared at me.

After longer than was socially appropriate, they started eating and chatting again. And, fortunately, soon after the bell rang.

This time when I walked into Mad Science, I braced myself for another sighting with my teacher.

We were creating a knockout ray or something. As last time, Warren did the work and I stayed out of the way. I was only twenty chapters in out of the two hundred or something. So I'm not a science genius yet.

At the end, Medulla was going around the tables and testing out everyone's ray guns. Eventually, half the class was knocked out in their chairs or on the floor. As he came to our table, I knew I was going to be the test subject. And it was only fair.

"Okay. Let's see it." Medulla said.

Warren held up the gun and pointed it at me. He turned the nozzle down to five minutes, like everyone else had, and pulled the trigger. A ray of blue light shot from out of it and hit me on my shoulder. The blue made a hissing sound as it soaked into my skin. I was ready to fall back. I was expecting it. But I didn't?

Medulla raised a questioning brow, "Let's see," he asked as he gestured for Warren to pass the gun.

He ran his fingers over the gun and checked out the wiring, and, finally inspected the trigger. He pulled it and accidently shot a girl in the row in front. She instantly collapsed in her chair.

My eyes widened. I hid my hand when it started to grow in shiny feathers. A pheasant/pigeon for confused I guess.

"Hmm." Medulla pointed it back at me and pulled it.

I felt a light tickling sensation on my arm as he zapped it again.

"Remind me what your power is Ms. Parker." He asked.

"Shape shift." I said confidently, trying not to look at my hand.

His brows creased. "Nothing else?"

"No," I shook my head, "I'm sure."

"Very odd." He muttered, "Anyway. Well done Mr. Peace." He said and walked off.

Warren looked at me.

"What?" I asked defensively.

He raised a brow and then looked away again.

"Attention. Is everyone awake yet?" Medulla called from the front. " should be over soon. So if you would like to clear everything away."

Everyone got up and started clearing their tools and appliances.

"I'll be right back." I said to Warren who shrugged in response and started clearing. "Mr. Medulla?" I asked as I approached him.

"Yes?" He said, turning to face me.

"I was wondering if you could help me understand chapter nineteen on the Super Gene."

"Hmm." He said, looking around, "I'm actually, quite busy at the moment. A student was bitten by some snakes that were exposed to radioactive compounds at birth, it's effecting his powers and we don't know what it's doing to his body. Maybe someone could tutor you. Why don't you ask your partner?"

I looked at Warren. "Ur... Okay." I lied. Warren didn't strike me as the type to-

"Mr. Peace?" Medulla called. Warren looked up. I looked down. "Would you mind tutoring Ms. Parker?" I put my hand over my eyes. "She's confused on the textbook, a topic we did last semester. It would help you improve your grade if you did this for me. Just help her catch up?"

Warren raised a brow, about to shake his head and then raised it in thought. "Fine," He grunted reluctantly. My head shot up in surprise. "But I'm only doing it for that grade."

Medulla nodded his head as the bell went off. "Great. Well, have a good weekend." He said.

I grabbed my bag and ran to catch up with Warren in the hallway.

"So when do you want to do this?" He sighed boredly.

"Um. I don't know." I thought, "When are you free?"

"Saturday afternoon?"

"Okay."

"At your house Saturday afternoon?" He clarified.

"No." I said a little too quickly. "We can't go to my house."

He looked at me quizzically, then,"Fine. Saturday afternoon. _My_ house."

I nodded. "Where do you live?" I asked.

"Do you know where the park is?" I nodded. "I'll meet you there." He said before power walking off.

As he left, something tapped me on my shoulder. I spun around and was met with a widely-smiling Layla.

"Hey!" She greeted. "What you doing this weekend?" She asked as we walked to the bus.

"Studying."

"Me too. I was just going to invite you to do some homework and watch a film at Will's house with everyone."

"When?" I asked.

"Saturday evening." She said, "Around seven?"

"Okay. I'll see you there."

"Cool." She smiled as we got on the bus for home.

* * *

Warren nodded to me as I approached him in the park, then turned round wordlessly and walked away. It was cold outside, the grass had a layer of frost sprinkled over it, I shivered and ran to catch up with Warren as he lead me through the park.

The path curved out and ended at the bottom of a street that had two lines of different white-washed houses, each of them had sweet little lawns at the front. Bicycle's with training wheels lay stranded in the middle of the road along with old footballs.

Warren walked up to one of the smaller houses. The lawn was almost overflowing with different coloured flowers and ornaments that encircled the house as if it were guarding it. I brushed my hand against the white peonies and fingered the delicate petals.

I turned around and noticed Warren was watching me. I jumped back and smiled awkwardly, "They're my favourite." I lamely explained.

He nodded and shrugged as he turned to walk up the porch and open the front door with his keys.

"Where are your parents?" I asked as I saw the lights were off.

Warren went into the living room and turned on the light, revealing a cosy room with a large fireplace and floral armchairs. Bookcases surrounded the room so you couldn't see an inch of wall. I followed him in.

"Mom's at work," he answered, shrugging off his jacket to hang on a hook in the corridor. I nodded, not bothering to ask about his dad, he would have answered if he thought it was necessary. "Okay. So, what do you need help with?"

I shrugged off my shoulder bag and pulled out the chunky textbook, "Chapter nineteen and twenty-four."

Warren opened the book and I started reading through it as he did some work.

"W-wait. What's a Plecentulia?"

"It's the part of the brain on the right that only supers have." He said, pointing at a diagram. I nodded and carried on, slowly getting more and more annoyed at myself for not remembering little bits, not understanding large bits because of the little bits I didn't remember and should have.

"Ugh! I knew that!" I said for the billionth time, getting more frustrated each time.

"Well, now you remember." Warren said for the trillionth time. "Um. Parker, What's happening to your teeth? And your arm."

I licked my teeth and felt my front teeth growing larger and slightly jagged at the bottom. My arm was growing a fluffy grey-brown fur. "Hmm. Beaver or squirrel?" I wondered aloud.

Warren smiled slightly at my reaction. "Could be either. I can imagine either one getting annoyed. Do you want a break?"

I nodded, getting up.

I followed Warren into the kitchen. "What do you want?"

"Orange juice?"

Warren grabbed two glasses and poured some orange juice into them. The orphanage's I had been to only ever gave out squash because it served more for the price it was. Same with school so I didn't get it often.

"Never had it before?" Warren asked sarcastically and looking at the empty glass I held, having drunk it's contents in a few seconds.

I shook my head and blushed a little. "No. I just don't have it often."

"How come? If you like it why don't you get it?"

"I don't know." I shrugged off. But he looked at me expectantly for an answer, "My friend is allergic to oranges." I was almost about to kick myself at that excuse. And Warren didn't buy it, I could tell. But he shook it off and finished his juice.

* * *

"Try and do these." He said, pointing at some end-of-chapter questions.

I hated it when a page tricks you, saying it only has four questions. But it lies. It actually has twenty but disguises it as four by saying; 1,a. 1,a,_i_. 1,a_ ii_. And so on.

I was on 3,c,_iii_ When I looked over at Warren. He was wearing a frustrated look at his homework.

"Is the genius struggling with his homework?" I teased.

"Ha ha. I'd like to see you do it." He said dryly.

I rolled my eyes and continued with my question. I soon got bored and glanced over at his worksheet. It was math. I shuffled over so I could see it. "Invert the third fraction then multiply straight across."

He looked at me. "What?"

"Put first factor and cross cancel. So that makes…" I looked at space for a second as I worked it out. "twelve. Multiply that by the amount of people in the town so twelve times seventy-eight… nine hundred and thirty-six. Square root that and… thirty point five. Round it up and thirty one."

Warren frowned, then stared at me, and then back at his work. "You know you're meant to do that with a calculator right?"

I shuffled back to my work as Warren stared at me.

"What?" I asked. He raised his eyebrows then shook his head and wrote down the answer.

* * *

"Done." I announced proudly, after about half an hour, with a huge grin.

I looked over at Warren who was biting his pencil and staring at his sheet. I smirked.

"What time is i-." Warren held up a hand to stop me from talking as he thought.

I waited for a while and then got worried about being late for the homework/movie thing at Will's house.

I shuffled back over to Warrens sheet. "Just rearrange it. So it's a half, multiplied by the perpendicular distance." Warren grabbed his calculator. "Its eighty-seven." I answered impatiently.

He looked at me with narrowed eyes. "If your wrong…" He trailed off and then wrote down what I had said.

"Now can you tell me the time?"

"Quarter to seven. Why?"

"How far is Will's house?"

"A few blocks. It's walkable. Why are you going to Will's'?" He asked, "Oh, are you going to that homework thing?" I nodded. "If you go down two blocks, turn right, three blocks. First one on the left." He said

"Ok. I'm going to go then." I said, getting up. "I'll see you on Monday I guess."

He nodded distantly. I grabbed my jacket and shrugged it back on before making my way down the corridor.

"Wait." Warren called from the living room just as I was about to shut the front door

"What?" I called back.

"What do you do on this question?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Just come."

"Can you just do this and then go?"

"No. Im going now. You can either come and I'll do it when we get there. Im going to be late."

I swore I could hear his eye roll from where I was. He soon appeared around the corner, grabbed his jacket and came to join me.

I stepped off his porch and through the little garden before turning to walk on the sidewalk.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

I turned around to him. "Did I not just say?"

He rolled his eye's while unlocking a small, black car and getting in the drivers' seat.

"You're so lazy." I called.

"Im not lazy. I'm conserving energy." He called back.

"Not for the environment." I said, "You're selfish too."

"Are you getting in or not?"

I sighed and walked to the passenger side.

* * *

I watch my breath curl and glimmer in the cold of the car. The heating wasn't on. "Aren't you cold?"

"I don't get cold very easily." He answered.

"Oh, yeah because you're a pyrophinetisick."

"Pyrokinetic." He said.

"Yeah. Whatever." I said.

We rolled into a drive attached to a bigger house than Warrens but not overly big. And it was still floral at the front.

"Hey, Miya!" Layla said as she opened the door, "Oh, hey Warren."

"Do you mind if I come?" Warren asked reluctantly. "I need her to do my math for me."

I elbowed him in the side. He didn't flinch, just smirked.

"Yeah sure. Come in." Layla said as she opened the door wider.

We both stepped in and I instantly felt warmer. The Stronghold's' house was the perfect family house you see in movies. Framed family pictures hung on the brightly coloured walls, and sat on the desks and tables in the living room and kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Magenta asked.

"What?" I snapped out of my dream, "Oh, nothing. Why?" I asked.

"You looked really upset."

I guess I couldn't help wanting a house like this. "Well if I was _really_ upset, you would know because I would be growing puppy fur or something." I said, working round the accusation.

"Puppies aren't upset. They're cute and happy."

"No. They have those big, black eye's and always whine at night or when you leave the house."

"Fair point."

We giggled and then found our way to the living room were everyone was sprawled out on the furniture and carpeted floor.

"Hey, Miya." Will said enthusiastically, "Hi Warren."

The rest of the gang chorused similar things. We both sat down and started to do our work with the others. I was doing my Hero History when Warren called me over. I showed him how to do the question and watched him write down the answer. I took a glance at the next question and pointed out the sort of thing you had to do for it. And the next one.

I didn't realise I had grown an audience as I thought out loud and wrote stuff down. I only did when I noticed the smirk on Warren's face, and then how quiet the room was. I looked around and everyone was staring at me. I instantly blushed.

"What?" I asked defensively.

They gaped at me, open mouthed.

"Is it humanly possible to work that stuff out without a calculator?" Zach asked.

"Yes." I replied

"Or is it another power?" He questioned.

"What? A super math power?" I said sarcastically.

"Can you do my math?" Magenta asked. "There's loads of trigonometry and angle stuff that I'm not good at."

"I won't do it for you. But I will help you with it."

"Yeah. Like she's been helping me." Warren said sarcastically.

* * *

It didn't take very long until we got bored of doing homework, surprisingly. So Zach put on the Avengers. It was kind of an abstract experience for me; sitting and watching the most recognised bunch of fictional super heroes with a bunch of non-fictional super-heroes-in-training.

By the end of it, I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open. "I better go now or I might fall asleep on the sidewalk while walking back." I announced.

"You aren't going to walk back at this time of night are you?" Layla asked.

"Yeah. It's fine. I don't live far." I actually didn't know whereabouts I was and didn't know how to get back, but they didn't have to know that.

"Yeah. You do. Brookstone is like on the other side of town." Will said.

"Then it's probably the other one. Brookway." I replied.

"You can't." He shook his head, "There are no houses there."

Yeah, but there is an orphanage I thought.

"Well. I'll be fine." I assured "I like walking an-"

"I can drive you." Warren suggested.

"No you don't –"

Before I knew it I was in Warren's car and we were driving through the city. Warren drove to Brookstone lane in around ten minutes.

"Which one is your's?" He asked.

"It's fine. You can just drop me off here."

"Which one?"

I sighed. "It's down a path. You can't get to it by car." I lied.

He stopped. "Thanks Peace."

"Whatever Parker." He said, driving off.

I looked at the time on my phone and did a double take . _11:48 pm._ I said to the orphanage director I would be back by ten. I looked at the moon and remembered which way the sun rose from my bedroom window. I started running east, direction of my _real_ home.


	5. Questions

**A/N. Sorry. Im making thease so quick! Im on a roll! And ive strted making the net one already. Should be up soon. Im so good to you guys!**

**Oh and I forgot to tell you earlier, if you see any words tht are said differently in America, please tell me. Eg: Chips-french fries or pavement-sidewalk. Because I am British and get confused on what you guys say differently some times. So please let me know. Thank you x**

**Enjoy...xxx**

_**Wild Ways**_

**Questions**

* * *

After surviving two hours of 'How To Control Your Powers In States of Anger' then another half hour (during my lunch break!) sitting in the classroom being ranted at for 'inappropriate behaviour' - I was more than relieved to get to lunch, even though what was dumped on my tray looked more like a cat had puked on it than what a chef had cooked.

"Hi," I greeted when I collapsed onto the bench in-between Mag and Will.

"Where have you been?" Layla asked.

I looked around at everyone else's plates, they had all finished, apart from Ethan who ate as if each bite would be his last.

"Yeah," Mag said, "Lunch is almost over."

I played around with the mush on my plate with my fork, "I got held back."

"Why?" Will asked at my side.

"I got in a fight," I sighed. Zach cracked up, setting off a round of laughter from the rest of the group, in clouding Warren - who I hadn't even noticed was there. "What's so funny?" I asked grumpily.

"You?" Warren said, "In a fight?"

"Yes." I said, "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"What was it about?" Zach asked with wide eyes.

"It was his fault." I insisted, piling a mound of mush onto my fork, "He shouldn't have been teasing me about my lack of control over my power - Ugh!" I reached for my water and gulped half of its contents in a heartbeat before glaring at the grey slop on my plate as if it had bitten me, "What is this?"

"It's called, " Zach said, putting his hands up as if creating the name of a famous platter, "School Food."

I would have laughed if the bell hadn't rung and drowned the sound out. "What do we have?" I looked at Warren.

"Skills development." He said, "In the gym."

I groaned, "Do you know what we're doing?"

He nodded, "Real fighting. Not verbal, physical."

My eye's widened with fear. I couldn't fight. I wouldn't do it.

* * *

Ten minutes later, I was dressed in blue gym gear that was too big for me and amongst the crowd of sophomores that surrounded Boomer, who was on the platform used in Power Placement.

"Okay. Were going to do some fighting today." I stiffened at his words. "No powers aloud No matter how strong your power is, combat is always a useful skill to know. " He started. "It's going to run like Save the Citizen, but everyone will have a go. It's done alphabetically, and because I'm so creative, we'll start with 'z'. And, unlike Save the Citizen, the winner doesn't stay on and at the end you will get feedback on what to work on for next lesson." He explained. "You will get armour which will count the amount of hits that have landed on a body and the force behind it, that's how we'll know who won."

As he was spoke, a fighting arena - about the same size as the platform he was standing on - rose from the floor behind the crowd.

At the end of his speech, all the teens retreated back to the bleachers.

The first to get called up and fight, a short girl and a nerdy looking boy, both of who's last name's began with an 'Y'. The timer from Save the Citizen started. Two minutes.

They threw some lazy punches, luckily landing contact a few times. The moment the buzzer went off, their two minutes up, they came off sweating and panting - the girl having won by a punch. Both of their advice was to strengthen physically.

As the fights went on, my nerves grew.

I tried to distract myself by analysing each fight, noticing that everyone here was taught more with their fists than with their legs and other parts of their bodies. There was one guy, who actually did kick a few times. His opponent ended up knocked out on the floor. See. That's what I mean.

I started payed closer attention when Warren went up with another boy whose last name was Perrin.

Warren was good. Really good. The boy - Perrin - was a similar build to Warren; strong, tall, muscular. Perrin moved like you would expect someone with that kind of physique to; powerful, slow but strong. Warren, however, moved quickly. He seemed to move more as a liquid than a solid. Appearing in different places with another powerful punch to deliver. I could hardly keep my eye on him. He was like watching a pea under a cup of a magician.

The buzzer went off and Warren he'd out his hand. The boy gave him a scolding look, then walked off the stage, pushing Warren's outstretched hand as he went.

"Peace wins." Boomer announced. "Advice: Perrin, speed and dodging. You're good with your punches but their slow. Warren, dodging. Your good at attacking. Work on your defence. One day someone could be stronger. Next. Parker and Oswin."

I swallowed.

I spotted my tall, strong-looking opponent walking down to the arena and noted unconsciously that he was heavy and probably didn't go very fast. I really needed to get out of my fighting habits. I _wasn't_ going to fight.

I walked up to Boomer instead of the arena. He raised a questioning brow once he spotted my approach.

"Um. I don't think I should fight, Coach." I said, nervously biting my lip.

"Do you have a note?" He asked.

"No. But I really wouldn't pu-."

"GO AND FIGHT THEN!" He sonic-boomed.

I was - all quite literally - blown off my feet and thrown a few meters in the air.

Getting up in shock, I reluctantly stumbled over to the arena, passing Warren as I did. He mouthed me a good luck, I nodded and moved to pull the armour over my head. It looked ridiculous on me - I knew. The heavy armour was designed to fit strong people - like Nat Oswin - as well as weaker, skinnier people. As a result, it clung to muscle proudly and hung loosely on the thinner people. I'm not exactly a stick. I'm thin but I have muscle as well. It's just not very noticeable. And I'm short. So the armour hung like a dress on me while it stuck to my muscled opponents chest.

He smirked at me. I had seen him bully some freshmen sidekicks in the cafeteria before. At the same time as not wanting to fight, I didn't want to look weak either.

"FIGHT!" Boomer boomed and the clock started.

Nat charged at me with a grunt. I instinctively turned to the side. _Stop trying!_ I screamed at myself in my head. But it's like trying to turn off your breathing or stop thinking; It's hard to fight off instinct.

And then a thought occurred to me. Maybe I didn't have to fight and still not get beaten up. Just use his momentum against him so he wouldn't get hurt but he would end up on the floor a lot.

When he charged at me again, about to punch me, I stuck my arm out at a diagonal in front of my face. His arm slid off. I grabbed it with my thumb on the back of his hand and turned it upwards. His body couched and leaned forwards. I twisted it further and towards him resulting in his body retreating to the floor.

While he was down and in shock, I tapped his armour lightly, earning myself a point. I backed away so he could get back up.

His face was red and sweaty. He charged at me as fast as he could and swung a punch to my stomach. I spun to the side smoothly, avoiding contact and making him loose his balance.

He turned around to me and tried a punch to my stomach again. I ducked and then came up with my arm extended. I used my upward momentum to make him loose his balance, then wrapped my arm round his back and nudged him with my hip. He fell to the ground again.

"PARKER." I turned around to Boomer. "IM GOING TO KEEP RAISING THE TIME UNTIL YOU ACTUALLY GET A FEW PROPER PUNCHES IN! STOP MESSING AROUND!"

I looked up at the clock and it was back to two minutes again. I sighed.

"I AM FIGHTIN-." I started to call back, but before I could finish, a forceful punch was made to my spine, knocking the wind out of me and tripping me to the floor.

I tried gasping for air, but before I could get any, kicked in the side and picked up by my waist. I was flung in a full circle before being chucked and landing the opposite side of the arena.

I gasped for air and quickly scrambled to a sitting position and turned to face my opponent.

The look on his face scared me. Well, it didn't scare me directly. What scared me was how I reacted to it. He looked like he wanted to injure me. The desire to hurt me sparkled in his wild eyes - thats when my body shifted from control to instincts.

Instinct isn't optional. You can't decide wether to act on it or not. As the saying goes - ideas pull the trigger, but instinct loads the gun.

I scrambled to my feet before he lunged at me again. I ducked and fell to the floor to sweep his legs with my feet, springing up as he stumbled back. I turned to him and swung a powerful tornado kick to his face, followed by a round-house to his stomach.

As he fell to the floor, I looked up at the clock. Thirty seconds.

I turned back to my opponent just in time to see him do that back springy-upy thing that I still haven't mastered, and was soon on his feet again. He ran at me again with a growl, launching an elbow at my face. I grabbed his forearm and fist and spun it anti-clockwise before elbowing his jaw, then bought him down to knee his face with as much strength as I had in my knee. Which is a lot.

He fell to the floor, knocked out, with seven seconds remaining on the clock. The sophomore class started whooping and cheering at the fallen bully.

I quickly shimmied out of my armour before throwing it hastily to the ground, then ran to the changing room.

I sat on the bench and held my face in my hands. My anger and despondency overwhelmed me. I didn't even try to stop growing black fur and my eyes turning black. I wasn't usually angry _and_ upset but I didn't feel like wondering what animal I was right then.

I thought I could overcome my fighting-wired brain. I thought I could ignore it and stop hurting people when they wanted a fight. But once I saw his desire to hurt me on his face – I couldn't help it. I lost control over myself. It's like someone took over my body to defend me.

I chucked off my shoes and looked at my feet. They were hard from the amount of kicks I have thrown in the past and they were slightly red now. At least they weren't too red. I didn't use as much power as I could've - at least I had some control.

* * *

The next morning consisted of Medulla giving us a lecture about the structure of the super gene. No, the morning consisted of Medulla giving a lecture on the super gene to everyone in the class but me. _My___morning involved a lot of doodling and watching of rain, due to the fact that I didn't have a clue what half the words he was using in his lecture meant.

The bell went and I jumped out of my chair and fell to the floor - half in surprise at the loud noise disturbing my reverie, and half in a large desire to leave the classroom. A felt my face redden but when I looked around, it didn't seem as though anyone had noticed. Apart from Warren, who was looking down at me with a smile.

He pushed out his chair to stand up and… held out a hand to me? I took it and he hauled me up with ease. His hand was surprisingly warm.

"Thanks." I smiled and took my hand out of his, then turned to scoop up my stuff and leave the classroom. With Warren at my side?

"What do you want Warren?" I asked, staring straight ahead.

"What was that yesterday?" He asked.

I turned to him and forced a smirk, "Me." I teased, "In a fight."

"How come you could do that?" He asked.

"What?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do."

"No. I-"

"How come you can fight?"

I shrugged and walked faster towards the cafeteria. But before I could, I felt a large hand on my shoulder, pulling me back.

"You're not going to just shrug this one off." He told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.

He looked around and then grabbed my arm tightly. "Warren?" I asked confusedly.

He ignored me. and continued to pull me through the crowed of hungry teens and into an empty hallway.

"Ur, Warren. Where are we-"

He opened a classroom door and pushed me into the empty room, shutting it behind him. I turned around to him and he leaned against the doorframe. Looking at him, you might assume he just wanted to lean his weight on something - but I knew better. It was to block my exit.

"What do you want Warren?" I asked as I jumped onto the teacher's desk, my legs hanging off the edge.

"Answers." He replied bluntly.

"If you wanted math help you could have just asked..." I said sarcastically.

"That's not what I mean."

"Then please tell me what you do mean." I said.

"Okay. Let's start with a simple one… Orange juice." He said in thought.

"I can't give me you an answer if you don't give me a question." I said, "Naming a juice isn't hel-"

"'My friends allergic to it'," He quoted, "Sure she is."

"She is." I lied.

"I thought you travelled a lot. Does your friend travel with you?"

I bit my inner lip nervously, "That's not what I said." I lied, "I think you misunderstood, I liked to travel a lot. When I was younger. Ages ago." I almost laughed at the poor lie. I was usually a flawless liar, but not around Warren for some reason. It didn't come to me as easily when it was him I was lying to. It felt like he would see right through them anyway.

"What about the knock out ray? How come it didn't work on you?"

"I don't know. That was as a shock to me as it was to you." That was true, it was a shock. At the time. But I had worked out why it had happened a few day's ago.

"You're lying." He looked at me with disappointment. And I felt guilty - which was crazy. He disliked me. Why should I feel guilty about lying to him? But the look in his eyes made me want to shrink and hide. "How do you know so many Languages?" He asked.

I just looked at him, trying to let nothing slip. Well that's what I thought I was doing. But I was actually just keeping quiet because I feared I would fall apart if I said anything.

"How do you know how to fight?" He asked. I hadn't realised he had been paying such close attention.

He watched me for a while as I stared at the floor.

"I don't know." I whispered quietly, so quietly I'm surprised he even heard anything.

"Sorry?" He asked gently.

"I don't know." I said a bit louder.

He cocked his head. "How can you not know?"

"I don't know how I know a lot of thing's!" I snapped, more out of sadness then of spite, "You're going to have to live with that as an answer because that's what I've been doing since I can remember."

"Then what about where you live? 'You can't get to it by car'," He quoted, "It was a street with houses that all had drives." He said.

I looked down at my feet again. "I didn't want anyone to know." I started quietly.

The first day, I had made the decision of no telling anyone because I thought it would give the first impression of me as a self-sympathising who felt bad for herself if I went around telling everyone. I had kept it a secret because I didn't want people asking questions. The kind of questions Warren was asking me now.

"I thought people might think differently of me." He didn't push me to keep going, just watched me and waited. "I don't know where I live, really. But I _stay_ at the local orphanage."

His face flashed with realisation.

"I don't know where they are." I added before he could ask the question that had been haunting me since I could remember, "No one does."

I hadn't said that aloud in years.

I got up after a while of staring at the floor and walked up to him.

"Do you want lunch now?" I asked quietly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Come on. I'm hungry." I said, taking his wrist and reaching around him to open the door.

* * *

"Hey. Where have you guys been? You took your time." Magenta said.

We shrugged in unison and sat down at our opposite sides of the table.

"Where's Will?" Warren asked.

"He's not in today." Ethan supplied

"Oh."

"Okay. Well, we were just talking about the local orphanage fundraiser thingy the school always does." Layla enthused.

Seriously?

"As freshmen, we haven't done it yet. But the school has an annual thing they put on to help raise money. This year it's a student fair. We have to run a stall and sell stuff or something." Layla said brightly.

I stared at her blankly, as did Warren opposite me.

"Well we were thinking of doing a stall together. You guys want to join?" Magenta added.

I stuttered to say something, "Oh. Uh- when is it?"

"This weekend"

"Im busy." I said way too quickly. Everyone looked at me with quizzical expressions. "But Warren would love to help raise money for those kids. Maybe earn enough to get them some orange juice." I looked at Warren.

"Why would they want orange juice?" Zach asked.

"Because they only get orange squash. It's cheaper. But disgusting." I answered, still looking at Warren.

Warren's face changed with recognition to the question he had asked earlier.

The others were frantically looking between us, trying to pick up on the subtext.

"What is it guys?" Ethan asked. "This is weird.

"I'll tell you later."

Did I just say that?

Warren raised an eyebrow at me. I smacked my hand to my head silently.

* * *

**A/N Please review!**

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**Stargazer-****_Don't worry. Demanding is good. And yes, she does get angry with her shields down in the future. xxx_**

**Daeb-****_ Thanks! Im glad your enjoying it! xx_**

**_Thans for reviewing guys! xxxxxx_**


	6. Fighting With Fire

**A/N Hey. By the way, I just wanted to say that I do karate and aikido, so although the fighting is fictional, I didn't just look up the name of things on the internet or something. I thought I would let you know because someone was confused in another one of my stories But yeah. Anyways…**

**Enjoy… xxx**

**Wild Ways **

**Fighting With Fire**

"Well you could tell us in Save the Citizen." Layla said.

_Dang it!_ Why can't I ever keep my mouth shut?

I groaned reluctantly. Was I really going to tell them? I really didn't want them to think of me differently.

The bell rang and I dragged my feet to the gym. The gang all went up to the top of the bleachers, where there was no one around. Warren went off to tell Boomer Will wasn't there today.

"So." Zach said. Magenta elbowed him.

"Oh. Right." I cleared my throat and looked around, avoiding their eyes. "Well you know Brookway? Well, Will was right about there being no houses there. But I-"I was cut off by Boomer.

"Stronghold's not in today. So…" He trailed off scanning his clipboard. "Parker. I enjoyed your performance yesterday." There was a murmur of confusion from the majority of the school; Only the sophomore heroes knew about the fighting. "Come down and join Peace." He said.

I walked down from the bleachers, a blush forming in my cheeks from the stares I earned.

Warren handed me the armour once I had reached him. I picked it up and inspected it, raising an eyebrow at it. "Is this actually meant to 'protect' us?"" I asked.

He shrugged. "Supposedly."

I put on the useless armour and stepped into the arena to walk to Warren's side.

Warren turned to me as Boomer was picking the villains. "You need to put your shields down."

"Wait. _What!?_" I exclaimed quietly.

"Put them down. Not now but when it starts."

"Are you crazy?"

"No. Think of it as power practice."

"You do realise, with my shields down and I shape shift, my emotion will feel stronger and I'm more… wild?" I asked.

"Yes. So we've got to make sure you're angry. And not at me. So just wait until one of them annoy's you."

I could see how that made sense, but I didn't want to hurt anyone. And I didn't have time to share this concern with Warren because the villains stepped into the arena.

"Okay. That's Melissa Durdrew, senior, telekinesis." He started.

"Teleke-wha?" I interrupted.

"Telekinesis. She can move stuff with her mind."

I nodded.

"And I don't know the other one, but he's a freshmen and probably doesn't know much about his power."

"GO!" Boomer shouted.

Warren went for Melissa and left me with the other one. Thanks Warren. Leaving me the one we don't know about.

The boy was strange. He saw me and cocked his head slightly to the right, horror movie style. I raised an eyebrow. How odd. I started walking towards him when I saw something in the corner of my eye. I turned around with my awesome reflexes and spotted someone coming at me.

I moved into my fighting stance when I noticed it was the same boy. What? I turned back around and he was still there, but now there were more of him, he had boxed himself in with clones of himself.

So he could duplicate herself. He had made a box around him of bodyguards while one of them was about to attack me.

That was a clever tactic. But not with me. Now I knew that I wasn't harming the _real_ boy. I could hurt his duplicates as much as I liked. I smiled. 3D training.

The duplicate that wasn't guarding him, ran at me. He swung a powerful punch which I avoided by ducking. I shot up and grabbed his flailing arm. I spun it up behind her back; it popped out of its fake socket. I head butted the back of his head with my forehead and backed away so I could launch an ultra-fast and strong roundhouse kick. I wasn't surprised-at all- when the thing fell and didn't get up; that was a kick I hadn't done in a long time.

The duplicate on the floor vanished.

I wiped the hair away from my face. The main boy amongst his body guards looked at me, then looked for his missing duplicate. He frowned when he realised I had defeated it. Then the two bodygaurds from behind him came running towards me.

They ran at different angles towards me. The first one to reach me lunged his body at me. I ducked and flung his body - using his forward momentum- to crash into the other one. They clashed into each other but didn't fall.

The two ran at me. One grabbed my arm, boy 1. I snatched it out and elbowed boy 2, coming back to punch boy 1. I grabbed his elbow and spun it round so he faced the other way. Boy 2 grabbed me around the waist. I slipped through and fell to the floor. Sitting on his shoes, I wrapped my arms around his waist behind me and pulled him over my bent back.

He somersaulted and crashed into the other one. I held onto his legs and used him to bring me to my feet. Before they could properly get up, I punched boy 2 in the jaw while making a backwards kick at boy 1's face.

They both vanished. I think they had a pain limit they had to reach before they vanished.

Looking at the clock above me, I wiped my hair from my face again. It had only been forty seconds since the beginning. Wow.

I looked back at the main boy. He was red in the face and angry. I looked over to Warren and saw him battling with Melissa.

I started to run to main boy. But all three of his remaining bodyguards advanced on me.

One got to me I grabbed his arm, twisted it into a lock, his back bent and I kneed him in the stomach. I pushed him away. Another one launched a kick. I grabbed his leg, pulled it, so he was hopping towards me and kicked him in the groin. He instantly vanished. But while I was doing so, I got a powerful punch to the nose.

I groaned and turned to the other two. One flew a low kick while the other one punched, instantly thinking the kick would be worse, I jumped and welcomed the punch to the ribs. Winded, I pushed the flailing leg from the failed kick away and moved behind him. I hooked round and punched him in the ribs and then wrapped my arm around his neck. I pushed down on his fake windpipe and pulled his head up and to the side. He was starting to vanish when I received a kick in the knee. I stumbled a bit. The one in my arms used it as an escape and slid out of my grasp.

"Parker! Look out!" I spun around to see a flying bench come at me in flames. I ducked and it landed on the other two who caught on fire and vanished. I smiled.

I looked around for main boy, he was cowering behind Melissa; his power now useless until the fake bodies healed.

My side of the arena was spotless apart from a little blood on the floor. I looked over at Warrens' and Mellissa's and it was a flaming dump yard with bits of random, burnt objects everywhere. I blinked.

Running over to Warrens side, he shouted at me "Come closer!"

I did as I was told. When he saw I was close enough, he sent a fire ring out on the floor. It erupted into several bigger ones, ignoring me and Warren. Like when you throw a pebble in water and the rings grow bigger as they go out. Like that, with fire.

The two villains were knocked over there feet.

While they were on the floor, I ran over to them and pushed down on a specific point on their necks. They flopped unconscious to the floor.

I turned back to Warren who was panting and obviously tired. "Your shields." He said.

"What?"

"Just take your shields down. We don't have time and we need to get the citizen."

I looked at the clock. Thirty seconds.

I didn't know what I was feeling right then. But I reluctantly plied the shields down. Really hoping I wasn't angry at Warren for some reason.

I instantly started to grow taller. My legs stretched and became thinner. My neck became stronger and longer. I looked at my body. It was yellow and brown. I inwardly smiled; giraffes were my favourite animal, and currently perfect for the job.

I galloped over to the rope and looped my neck around it twice. When it was firmly around it, I tugged the rope and it came off the ceiling. I heard the crowd cheer and felt my ears twitch at the sound.

I bought my neck to the floor, thinking the dummy and rope would fall. But it stayed. I shook it a bit but it still didn't come off. I made longer swings with my neck, trying to shake it off.

"Parker!" I finally heard. I looked down at Warren -_ well that's the first_.

I bent my neck so it was level with him. He gestured to bend lower. It was awkward for my knees but I managed. He unravelled the rope from around my neck and chucked it on the floor.

"It didn't work last time with selfish thoughts did it? Was it clever ones?" He asked.

I listed all the prime numbers in my head and eventually started to shrink. I stretched my legs once I was human again.

"Nice work, Parker."

"I could say the same for you too, Peace." I said, wiping my hair from my face for the tenth time (I really needed a hair band for the next time I was going to do something like this).

"Come on. You need to see a nurse."

I frowned at him. "Why?" I asked.

"Your nose is bleeding like a fountain." I glared at him. I touched my nose. It didn't hurt much, just a nose bleed.

When we both came out of he nurses' office (Warren had some cuts too) we were bombarded by the gang who were in the waiting room.

"Miya! That was awesome! I didn't know you could fight!" Magenta squealed.

"Yeah! I know I'm a pacifist, but I still thought that was cool!" Layla said, hugging me.

"Yeah and dude, I've never seen you do that raindrop thing before. That was wicked! You should've seen it from above, man!" Zach enthused to Warren.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Ethan asked me. My face banished my smile.

"Oh, yeah. I was going to tell you guys." I said, my tone changing. I thought I should tell them sooner rather than later. "You know that local orphanage that you're going to raise money for?" Everyone shared confused looks with each other but nodded eventually. I let out a long breath. "Well, that's my orphanage. Well my current one anyways. I have had quite a few."

Everyone gave me a mixture of sympathetic, confused and curious looks.

"Oh, Miya. Why didn't you feel like you could tell us?" Layla asked. "You can tell us anything." The gang nodded in agreement.

"I wasn't sure what how you would think of me." I admitted. "So I guess I actually do live on Brookway."

"So how does that link to you being able to fight?" Ethan asked, his curiosity overpowering his other emotions.

I blinked at the question, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You said 'oh yeah,' and told us just after I asked how you could fight."

"Oh. I - ur. I don't know. It's the same as my languages. I just - know them. I just... know how to fight."

"Since when?" He asked.

Warren hadn't questioned me that far, so he was intrigued too.

I sighed. "I don't know that either. I can't remember." I looked at my feet. "I can't remember anything before a month before my seventh birthday."

Warren was looking at me very curiously now, like a detective.

"I was found and I. I - ur could fight, and speak several languages. It's a bit ironic, really. I could remember different languages but not my own name…" I trailed off looking into space; the thought had never occurred to me.

"So that's what you meant by you had chosen it yourself earlier." Magenta asked, referring to my slip up when I first met her.

The others just stared at me, disbelieving.

"What about your parents?" Zach asked. Magenta pinched his arm and glared at him.

"It's okay, Magenta, it's been years. My parents, well, I don't know much about them. I woke up in a ratty apartment in Bangkok. They weren't there. When I was found later on, people tried to look them up. But everything had been erased. There was nothing on them- or me for that matter. And I couldn't remember anything so I named myself."

* * *

_Warren POV_

_I walked in to languages after lunch the next day. Parker was talking to the teacher in a language I wasn't even going to bother guessing. I rolled my eyes at her - even though it was at her back - and sat at the back of the classroom. The bell went and Parker came and sat in the seat next to me. _

_The teacher started to lecture about the future tense in French. I really didn't care. I hated languages and sucked at them. The only one I could speak was Mandarin, and that was enough for me. I looked to the right at Parker. She knew this stuff without thinking so she didn't bother to listen either. She was drawing something in the black book that seemed to be attached to her at all times_

_I - being me - was curious as to what she was drawing. I strained my sight to look at it. When I couldn't see it, I moved my chair slightly and tilted my head. I couldn't see enough to determine weather she was good or not or what it was, but I saw a lot of ink before she noticed me and pulled it away. She stuck her tongue, I smirked._

_It's weird, anyone else do that and they'll be on the burnt side of a kebab stick within a heart beat. Nor would they dare to do it to Barron Battle's son. But here we are._

_The bell rang and we all walked out and I went to my locker with Parker. Since we were both sophomores and we both began with 'P' we had lockers only a few apart. We grabbed are stuff and walked silently to Mad Science. _

_"Oh yeah. Can you help me understand a chapter of the textbook? Sixty-seven." Parker asked when we sat down._

_"When? I need to do my math too."_

_"Don't mind."_

_"It's kinda weird how the subjects your awful at, I'm amazing at." I said._

_"Yeah. And the one's your awful at, I'm more amazing at." She smiled at me. _

_"No. The one's your scarily good at, I'm average at. _I'm_ not dreadful at anything."_

_Parker rolled her eyes at me and got her Mad Science stuff out._

_"What did you do for your project?" I asked, changing the subject._

_"Can't you guess?"_

_"No."_

_She pulled out a little box and opened it. Inside was a bunch of metal scraps that were super glued in bits. It didn't look like they were attached._

_"Oh no you're right. I could totally have guessed." I said dryly_

_She rolled her eyes "Shut up. I spent ages on this. Just because it isn't pretty."_

_"What is it?" I asked, prodding it with my finger._

_She slapped my finger away. "Don't touch it." I couldn't help laughing a bit. "It's a voice activated calculator."_

_I raised an eyebrow. "That's… different." Chuckling a bit._

_"Shut up, Warren. What did you do?"_

_I pulled out a little thing I had made out of scrap meatals that had wires sprawled over it and going into random parts of it. It wasn't pretty, but at least it didn't look like a robot had puked - like someone's I knew did._

_"What does that do?"_

_ I held up the mouthpiece to her. She looked at it and then at me._

_"Blow into it."_

_"I don't know. I don't want to waste a breath on that thing." She teased._

_"Just do it."_

_She did and a pot on a window at the other side of the room exploded._

_"What was that?" She asked._

_"A magnified and compressed air dart." I said._

_She pouted and looked at her little... invention. I chuckled when I looked at it again._

_When the bell rang, we handed in our inventions and went to lunch. __We walked over to the table with our lunches. I don't know why I started sitting with these guys again. I had stopped after the homecoming incident. But the conversations were starting to not be as bad as they used to be._

_"Hi." She greeted the group as we sat in our usual places._

_"We were just thinking about having a sleepover on the weekend because Zach got the new James Bond on DVD." Layla said. "Do you guys want to come? Tomorrow evening at my house."_

_"Yeah." Parker replied eagerly._

_Everyone looked at me. Ugh. The idea of a sleepover made me want to puke. But everyone was going._

_I agreed reluctantly. Pretty-much forcing the words out._

_Everyone smiled at each other. I caught Parker's eye's. She had one cocked brow and a slight smirk on her lips with her arms crossed over her chest. I shrugged at her._

* * *

_We did the same thing as last week; do our homework before we went over._

_"I just need to finish this." I que'd her do my math problem for me. She did._

_"Now should we go?" She asked, putting the pencil back down._

_"Ill just get some stuff." I said, getting up from the floor._

_I went up the stairs and walked into my room. I grabbed a spare change of clothes and went back downstairs, surprised to see my mom speaking to Parker._

_"Mom? How come you're back early?" I asked._

_"The surgery was quiet and I was nearing the end of my shift anyways." She smiled._

_"Oh. Well this is Par- Miya."_

_"We just met." Mom smiled at Parker__ who smiled back._

_"Oh. Well, we were just about to leave."_

_"Oh, okay sweetie. Have fun you two." She smiled._

_"Thank you Mrs. Peace." Parker said. "Your home is lovely."_

_I could tell she didn't go to other people's houses a lot. I also noticed her hide her hand as it was turning into a hoof. I smirked._

_"Thank you Sweetie. But, call me Sarah. Mrs. Peace is so formal." She said, batting it away with the back of her hand._

_ "Okay, Sarah. It was lovely to meet you." She said, backing out the doorway, her bag in hands._

_"See you later." I said going out the front door._

_"Have fun." She called after us._

_"You don't do that often do you?" I asked when we were in the car._

_"Was I that obvious?" She asked nervously._

_"You grew a hoof." I stated as we rolled out of the drive._

_"Yeah and I hid it. I'm just not used to going to other peoples houses." She said._

_"Didn't you move a lot though?" _

_"Yeah but I didn't have to meet a lot of people I had to make a good impression on." She said._

_"Why'd you have to make a good impression on my mother?"_

_"Well, I was in her _house_." She said._

_I noticed she was growing goose bumps and I rose my body temperature to warm up the car. You forget its cold when you are always warm. _

_"You just have to tell me when you're cold. I don't realise how cold it gets." _

_She turned to me. "Its snowing. How could you not -." She interrupted herself. "Oh, Does your pyrokintetikesia keep you warm?"_

_"Pyrokinesis. And yes it does." He said. How many times I have I told her its proper term?_

_We arrived at Layla's house a while after. I parked outside and went to her door._

_This time Will answered. Did they swap houses or something? "Hey guys." He said._

_"Hey." Parker greeted._

_We followed Will into the Hippie's house. And- like last time- Parker was in awe of it. She looked around like a lost puppy. No one said anything this time though, although we all noticed. _

_"Hey. Do you guys want a drink or anything?" Layla came up._

_"Do you have any orange juice?" Parker asked. I smirked a little._

_"Yeah. Warren?" I shook my head before the she and Parker went off to the kitchen_

_I went over to the living room and greeted everyone. They had put cushions and blankets and a bunch of mattresses on the floor. Pillows were taken off the backs of sofas to make beds. _

_I dropped my stuff down next to everyone else's. Parker and Layla came back through, they were holding there juices and boxes of pizza that had just arrived._

_Everyone all but pounced at them to get their food when they noticed they had pizza's. I hung back and waited until they had all finished until I went over and grabbed a piece._

* * *

Miya POV

I was talking to Zach while I was eating my pizza on the floor. He's a very… unusual person to have a conversation with. This made it easy, un-awkward and amusing so I wasn't complaining.

"So you glow?" I asked, remembering when Magenta introduced him for the first time.

"Yeah man. It's freaking awesome. You have to s-." He stopped when he thought of something and looked out the window.

"I can show you because it's dark." He said, grinning. "Okay. Guys." He said, getting everyone's attention. "Miya hasn't been blessed with the sight of my power yet. So, Magenta could you turn off the lights?" He said.

The he made his way to the centre of the room and outstretched his arms. He squeezed his eyes shut. I chuckled under my breath, everyone else looked amused too. I saw Magenta waving to get everyone's attention. She was making a leaving gesture. We all got up quietly; suppressing giggles, and left the room.

Once we were out, everyone ran down different hallways, of corse Warren wasn't joining in though. I ran up the stairs with Magenta when we heard Zach realise what had happened in the other room. We heard him run down the hallway, making us hurry faster.

We went into a cupboard that had a vacuum cleaner and lots of mops, hearing Zach thumping up the stairs. Magenta dropped beside me. I looked down and saw she was a guinea pig.

And the next thing I know, I'm shrinking into a bunny as well. I was happy and, well, bunny-like. So I thought it would be okay to let my shield down.

I hopped and Magenta scurried to the corner just before Zach opened the door. He looked around and then shut it again. We burst out with laughter. Magenta's was a high-pitch human laugh while mine was an actual bunny - squeaky thing.

"That was so funny." I said, but it came out as squeaks.

"Hey. I can understand your bunny-talk." Magenta said and we both grinned.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_"Hey have you guys seen Miya and Magenta?" Layla and Will came in with grins on their faces. _

_"No, why?" I asked._

_"We can't find them." Ethan said, coming in behind them with Zach._

_I sighed and got up._

_"We've been calling but they haven't answered and the game passed its prime."_

_"It never had one." Zach said._

_Everyone turned to him, showing their grins_

_"Well. They're both shape shifters." Will said._

_I frowned. Parker wouldn't put her shields down would she?_

_Soon after, everyone was looking in all the small spaces of different rooms. I clambered up the stairs while everyone searched the bottom floor. The first door I opened was a bright green bedroom which was undoubtedly Layla's. I looked under the bed and behind the wardrobe and went to the next room. It was a storage cupboard. I was about to shut it again, thinking they wouldn't be in a storage cupboard when I saw a bright purple in the corner of my eye._

_I bent down so I could see under a shelf. I muffled laughter with my hand when I saw a purple guinea pig and a white rabbit asleep and curled up next to each other._

_I went down the stairs quietly with a grin on my face. "Guys." I whispered._

_They all turned to face me. I put a finger to my lips and then gestured for them to follow me. We all crept up the stairs and I led them to the cupboard. They all burst out in hushed laughter. Zach, Will and I took out our phones and took a picture._

_Layla, who was still wearing a grin, walked up to them and lightly prodded both of them._

* * *

Miya POV

My eyes opened wide when my bunny instincts kicked in and I was prodded awake. I got up quickly, like a normal rabbit. I didn't have to move my head to be able to see my surroundings. Rabbits had a near-360 vision.

I saw Warren, Will, Zach and Ethan in the doorway and Layla above me. They were all wearing huge grins. It calmed me down a bit. I started bringing my human senses back. I was controlling it. I hadn't done this before.

I hopped through legs and out into the hallway so I had space to grow back into a human. I recited pi until I started to grow again.

Everyone started laughing. I put my shield back up and walked over to them.

"What's so funny?"

Warren handed me his phone. On the screen was a purple guinea pig and a white rabbit snuggled up together against a wall and a bucket. It was so cute. But so unlike the people who they were in human forms.

Warren laughed at my expression. I elbowed him in the stomach.

**A/N Please review!**

**~Review Reply~**

**Stargazer1364-****_ Hmm. This weekend I've been doing quite frequent updates but after tomorrow I'm going to start alternating between his story and my other one. So about every 4-7 days. Thanks for reviewing hun! xxx _**


	7. Flu

**A/N Please review! Everytime I get one I get a huge grin on my face**

**Please R&R**

**Enjoy...xxxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Flu**

I woke up the next morning with a cramp in my neck. It looked like I wasn't the only one who fell asleep in the movie. Everyone else had done too. I looked around. Everyone was still asleep but Layla who wasn't there. We were all sitting in a slight semi circle with our backs against a sofa and all touching the person next to us. I looked around and saw Magenta's head was on Zach's lap. Ethan was sprawled out like a sitting up starfish and Will had his arm on the sofa where Layla must've been.

I looked around for Warren. When I saw him next to me I came to the realisation that I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. And I'm not surprised actually, he's so warm.

I skilfully got up without waking anybody up and went to the kitchen. Layla had her back to me and was by the stove.

"Morning." I said, taking to a stall by the kitchen island.

Layla turned around and smiled brightly. "Oh. Hi, Miya! How did you sleep?"

"Uncomfortably." I said rubbing my neck.

Layla laughed. "Yeah. Me too."

"What you making?"

"Pancakes and eggs." She said, turning back to flip a pancake and stir some eggs.

Zach, Warren and Will came in. We repeated a similar conversation.

"Did anyone finish the movie?" Will asked

"I didn't.

"Neither."

"No."

Layla got out a plate and put all the pancakes on it. Then got out several more and handed them to us.

I hungrily grabbed one and put some maple syrup on it.

"What time is it?" I asked when I had finished.

"Ten thirty."

"I should probably go soon. How far away do I live?" I asked, knowing they had to go to their little fundraising thing soon.

"A few blocks." Layla replied.

"Oh okay. I better start walking. Thank you for inviting me. It was really fun." I said, hopping off my stall.

I said goodbye to everyone, not bothering with Magenta and Ethan who were still unconscious on the floor.

The walk home wasn't very long, but it was cold. It was cool that I lived close to Layla, though.

I signed in on the sheet and went up to my dorm. When I was halfway up the many flights of stairs, I bumped-literally bumped- into Bella.

"I'm so sorry, Miya."

"It's fine."

"What are you doing today?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Nothing, I guess."

Her face lit up. "Yes you are. You're going shoe shopping with me." She squealed.

She had wanted to take me shoe shopping in ages. I looked down at my shoes. They had ripped and my toes were starting to show through the material. I wasn't going to bother protesting.

I rolled my eyes at her but went with her anyways. It was a fun day; I kept thinking how Layla and Bella would get along so well. They're so similar.

* * *

I woke up the next morning and got changed into my new jeans, jacket and black converse.

I walked off the bus nauseous. I was getting better at my flying-bus sickness. tEven though I was at the same stage most people were at day two of arrival. Only three weeks late.

Coming out of Hero History I went to math. I always liked having math after Hero History, I was so bad at Hero History and I didn't feel so stupid when I got to math.

Mr Anson was handing out everyone's marked math homework and their tests back to them.

"Ms. Parker. Who did you learn from to answer questions like that?"

"Just… school." I said with a shrug.

He gave me back my test and homework.

"And you're new?"

"Yes." I answered, confused at all these questions. Surely he must've had better students than me before.

He raised his brows and walked away. That was weird.

* * *

"Hey guys!" I said as I plopped my tray down on the lunch table. "How was the fundraiser?"

"It… kind of failed." Will said.

"It didn't kind of fail. It did fail." Magenta deadpanned.

"Guys. I said I'm sorry. I just wanted to test it out and whacked the mole a bit too hard." Will said defensively.

I laughed.

"Are you going to eat that?" Warren asked, eyeing my food.

"No I was going to see if I could see it get colder." I said sarcastically.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the rabbit hutch this morning." He said with a smirk.

I glared at him and kicked his shin under the table.

"Ow! Did you just kick me?"

"Anyday." I smirked. "Ow!"

He smirked. I kicked him again.

"Guys! Stop it." Layla said.

"Fine. But I could kick your ass any day. Just letting you know." I said.

"Pfft. Keep dreaming; it's good for you." Warren said. Will smiled.

"Yeah she could." Magenta said. "I don't know if you saw, Warren. But while you were playing ballerina with Melissa. Miya was kicking ass, seven on one."

I smirked.

"Yeah. Miya could totally beat you _without_ her power." Layla said. We all looked at the pacifist, disbeleiving. "On the feminist side of things." She explained.

"Fine. Warren and Will vs Magenta and Miya." Ethan said.

"Me? I don't think a guinea pig will help much in Save the Citizen." Magenta said.

Everyone looked at Layla. "What?" Layla said. "Oh no. No, no, no, no." She protested.

"Please?"

* * *

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Layla said.

We were both at the opposite end of the arena to Will and Warren. Layla's armour hung loosely like mine.

"It's fine. Your power's awesome." I reassured. Then a thought occurred to me. "How come you're a sidekick?"

"I didn't show my power in power placement."

"Okay. Remember the plan?"

She nodded.

"Okay. Heroes." Boomer shouted and gestured to us. "Villains." He gestured to Warren and Will.

"Go!"

Warren powered up in flames and Will flew towards us. Layla and I split up and went in opposite directions. Will made a split second decision and went for Layla.

He landed in front of her, not sure what to do from there. Layla faked a nervous smile. Will made a similar one.

"Okay. Stay here and just stay out the way and then I won't have to do anything to you." Will said.

"What? Do you not think I couldn't beat you?"

"No-no that's not what I meant." Will squirmed

Layla inwardly smiled; everything was going to plan.

She pretended to look as angry as possible, which was more of an upset look for Layla.

"Or maybe you could stay here and I won't hurt you." She said innocently with a smile.

Meanwhile I turned to face Warren, still on the opposite side of the arena.

"Don't think I'm going to go easy because you're a girl, Parker." He called to me.

I hit my knee. "Damn it! That's exactly what I was thinking, Peace." I called back.

He lit up more and threw a fire ball at me. I easily side stepped it.

"Come on Peace!" I shouted. "That was pathetic." I said, watching it burn on the floor.

He threw about eight in my direction. I ducked and jumped over or under them. My hand caught on one that was thrown to the side and my foot on another but I ignored them.

I started running at him while dodging and jumping over fireballs. I was nearly there when I looked over at Layla to see if she was at the same stage of our plan.

"Fine. I'll stay here." Layla said, not wanting to fight her boyfriend.

"Okay." Will said.

He flew up and towards me. Yeah she was at the same stage.

I ran at Warren, looking like I was about to punch him but at the last second I ducked and fell to the floor, catching his legs as I skidded.

I jumped up as he stumbled backwards, off balance. I caught his hand that was flailing to try to keep himself balanced and twisted his thumb into a lock. It didn't hurt but he buckled and his knees fell to the floor when I gave a slight push, just as Will came behind me.

He grabbed my shoulder. I turned around and grabbed his elbow. I twisted it around so it was bent awkwardly and his back was bent. Then I moved towards him and let go. I held onto his waist and put a foot behind him while leaning my weight forward, he fell.

I was about to look over at Layla when some large, warm hands wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. The only ways I could think of how get out of this one would hurt him. I didn't want to do that. So I waited to see what he was going to do. He lifted me up higher.

I didn't know if this was going to work and I hadn't done it before, but I did a somersault, using his hands as a pivot and hooked my legs around his waist. I leaned backwards and as he was about to fall on me I turned his body around so I was on top of him when he fell to the floor.

The only fault to this manoeuvre was he was lying on my legs and I was sitting on his stomach. I tried to budge my legs out from under him. In another circumstance, I would punch him to knock him out. But I wasn't going to do that.

Warren smiled as he saw me struggling to get free.

"Peace. Get off my legs!" I grunted, trying to get my legs out from under him.

He grinned wider. He had trapped me. I glared at him. Will was about to go to me before he realised that I couldn't move. He stopped and looked for Layla. As planned, Layla stayed out of the way of the fight and help at the end. She encased Will in some vines. Knowing it wouldn't hold him for long, she also set some vines to grab the citizen.

I looked up at the clock. Layla used her vines to encase the dummy and started to tug at it. Will was about to ply free of his vines while Warren and I were helpless on the floor. Me not being able to move and Warren not wanting to because I would be freed.

The buzzer went on the same second the dummy got pulled off. We all looked to Boomer to see who had won.

He was climbing off his stall to talk to someone who could see things in slow motion.

The crowed was silent as Boomer and the student chatted, not wanting Peace an Will to have won again.

"Peace and Stronghold win." he shouted.

I turned to look at Warren under me, he was grinning wildly.

"Barely." I snorted. "Now can you get off of me?" I asked, still sitting on his stomach.

He rolled to one side so I could free one leg and then the other. When we were both on our feet, we walked over to Will and Layla.

"Draw?" Will asked.

Layla and I looked offended. "No. You won. And only marginally." Layla said.

"Yeah. Just because it was close and we're your friends, you can't say it was a draw." I agreed. "And just so you know, we could've won. And can still beat you."

"But didn't." Layla said

The two boys stared at us quizzically. Warren muttered something under his breath.

* * *

I woke up in the morning - earlier than usual - with a light head. I sat up and the world went dizzy. Feeling like I was floating, I touched my forehead with the back of my hand. It was boiling and sweaty. I groaned; I really hated the flu.

I swung my legs out of the sheets and onto the floor, about to tell the orphanage director I couldn't go into school today.

But before I could get up, I sneezed. I felt myself get heavier and fall to the ground in a tangle of sheets. I opened my eyes in confusion and my vision was different. Everything was sharper; all the sounds were as well. I looked down and saw an orange, stripy body. Shit!

I rolled under my bed before any of the girls got curious. And I had a feeling that if any of the girls saw a tiger on the floor, they would be very curious. Well, probably more terrified, but curious.

"What was that?" One of the girls said, talking about the thump of my falling.

"I don't know." Another one said.

"Probably downstairs." Bella's voice offered.

I waited under my bed for the girls to finnish getting ready. I rolled back out and tried to change into a human ten minutes later once they had left. I couldn't morph into myself again.

I clawed my phone with retracted claws on my bedside table until it fell to the floor.

You know in those cartoons when you see a cat put his paw in a fist and then grow one, sharp nail to cut a rope or something. They lie. I pulled out my claws and tried to use one to key in a number. I ended up with a scratched phone and a number of _90280_ instead of _07_. I sighed and sat down.

I looked down when I felt myself shifting again. A panther. Great.

Before I could even take a step in my new form, koala features replaced the panther.

I pouted and crawled back over to my phone with a dizzy head. It was a lot easier keying in Layla's number as a koala than as a jungle cat. However, my sight was a bit blurry so it took a few tries.

I pressed the green button and lay down on the floor with my ear on the speaker as it started to ring.

_"Hey. Miya. What's up?"_ Layla said brightly.

I opened my mouth to explain what was happening. But a bunch of strangled noises came out. I gave a koala-scream of frustration; I forgot I can't speak when I'm an animal.

_"Miya? Hello?"_ Layla asked before hanging up.

I groaned in frustration again. And then my form started to grow. My grin from when I saw my normal feet soon turned into a frown when I bumped my head on my bed frame. I didn't want to waste time on rubbing my head though. I snatched my phone and speedily typed in Layla's number again before I could change again.

"_Miya?"_ Layla asked uncertainly.

"Layla!" I exclaimed with a blocked nose. "I've got the flu. But my powers are acting up and I can't stay at the orphanage incase-." I was interrupted with a body shift and my voice came out as squeals.

"_Miya? Oh. Have you changed again?"_ She asked.

I squealed into the microphone as a reply.

_"I'll come and get you. Just look out the window until you see a green car. Bright green. Like you-cant-miss-it green" _She said, and then hung up.

I sighed as I looked at the window high up. How was a hamster meant to look through that? Then a thought occurred to me. I went back to the phone and walked on the keypads in an attempt to text her.

**K but u hve 2 tel th directer im ick**

A few seconds later she texted back.

**_Okay. I'll be there in a minute._**

I scurried away from the phone and out the doorway. I stopped at the top of the stairs. Well this wasn't going to be fun.

Trying to find a better way than diving off the multiple, hard steps, I climbed onto the ledge that connected with the banister. I scurried along but it only worked for a few steps until I tripped and fell on my back onto a step below, my fragile body winded by the force. I rolled over and tried to get back onto the ledge but it was too high.

Looking over the end of my current step to the next one, I closed my eyes and walked off. I fell onto the next one with my legs sprawled out and an injured stomach.

You could only imagine how tired and dizzy I was. Firstly, hamsters are nocturnal and would be asleep in the day, and I was sick. Secondly, I was light headed _anyway_, put that head into a miniature brain and you feel like a flea. Thirdly, I was sick. Repeatedly falling off miniature cliffs is not something you should do when you're meant to be asleep in bed. And last of all, I don't think there was one bit in my body that wasn't bruised when I made it down the many amounts of staircases.

I practically dragged my weak form into the lobby. From this height, it looked like a football pitch. I groaned, but I lightened up when I saw Layla walk in.

I don't know how, but she spotted me as soon as she stepped into the lobby. She strode to the desk that had a little back - room behind it that a little old lady always hid in. All the orphans thought she was scared of children or something.

Layla rung the little bell on the desk. It was a lot louder and deeper with hamster ears. The old lady came out from the room and walked to the desk.

"What do you want?" She grunted at Layla.

"Hello. I'm Layla, a friend of Miya Parker's. She told me she's ill and upstairs. Asleep. And that you shouldn't disturb her. Because she's ill... And asleep."

I stared at Layla. She quite obviously wasn't used to lying.

"I'm sorry. But I'm going to have to check and see if she is lying or not." She said, turning her back toward Layla and going up the stairs.

"Wait. Ma'am." A red-haired lady walked into the lobby. Undoubtedly Layla's mom. It was like looking at Layla's older twin (not that that's possible but you get what I mean).

"It's okay. You can trust us. She's ill. Very sick." Layla's mom smiled warmly.

The old women turned to her. "Well if you say so." She said, walking back to the desk and dialling the school to tell them I was ill.

I stared at the grotty old lady. Did she actually just say that?

Layla was fiddling with a pencil that was on the desk. She dropped it on the floor.

"Oh. I'm so clumsy." Yeah, she's not good at lying.

She looked at me when she crouched to the floor to pick up the pencil. I scurried - painfully- across the floor and onto her hand. She lifted me up gently and put me in her hoodie pocket. It was dark but comfortable and warm.

Layla and her mom walked out of the lobby and into the green car. Layla put me on a back seat and then went around to sit in the passenger seat.

"Hello, Miya. I'm Esme, Layla's mom." Esme said from the driver's seat. "I can talk to animals, so I can understand you."

I nodded. "It's nice to meet you Esme." I squeaked.

"Eat this. It's designed to eat in human form for ill supers. But I guess you can eat it as a hamster. It will just take longer to eat." She put a pill in front of me. I held it with my front two paws and nibbled at it.

"You're not the only person whose powers act up when they're ill. That pill will help calm it." She explained while driving.

And sure enough, when I was just about done with it, I turned back into my human form. Layla looked back at me.

"What happened? You've got bruises everywhere." She exclaimed with concern.

I looked down at my battered body. I was covered in bruises head to toe.

"Stairs." I croaked with a bad throat and a blocked nose.

"It looks like someone used you as a punching bag." She said.

"Every girls dream." I said sarcastically.

We soon rolled into their driveway.

I got out and walked dizzily behind the two red-heads and into their house. They led me to a spare room next to Layla's.

I instantly flopped on the bed with exhaustion.

"Miya. I'm really sorry but I've got to go to school. I'll be back as soon as possible."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about school. Go. Don't think twice about me." I said, brushing her away with my hand.

"I'll be back soon. I promise." she said.

"How are you going to get there? You've missed the bus. Shit. I'm sorry. I made you late!" I said.

" Don't worry. Our car fly's. And my moms going to drive and explain why I was late. And my mom can be very persuasive."

"Oh yeah. How come that old lady just agreed to... Believing you?" I asked

"She's can talk to animals as well as being an empath."

"Oh. That makes more sense. Anyway, go to school."

She smiled at me sympathetically. And then left.

Her mom walked in. "Um, sweetie. I hate to leave you, but after I drop Layla off, I've got to go to work. But make yourself at home. I want all of this to be drunken by the time I get back." she said, putting a large jug of water by my bed. "And take one of these every two hours." She put a packet of the super-pills by the jug. "If you get hungry or need anything just take it. And If you need to call me, for any reason at all, here is my number." She put a piece I paper on top of the pills.

"Thank you." I said.

She smiled and left the room.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_I walked into Mad Scinece and sat at my usual table. I hadn't noticed, but I was watching the door to see when she was going to come in. But the bell rang and she still wasn't there._

_She didn't go to languages either._

_"Hey." I said to our group as I sat down. I knew the answer to this question but I wanted to ask it anyways. "Do you guys know where Parker is?"_

_"Yeah. I was just explaining to everyone that she's at my house. She's sick ." Layla said._

_"Why is she at your house?" I asked._

_"Because her powers were acting up. I went over and found her as a hamster. But before that she said she had already been a koala, a tiger and a panther."_

_I chuckled a bit._

_"Warren, I need to ask a favour." I looked at Layla again. "I have to stay here for an hour and a half after school ends because the Green committee called an urgent meeting. Do you mind going over to check on her? My mom won't be back until evening." she said with concern._

_"What's 'Green Committee'? And why me?" I asked._

_"It's a bunch of students who think of better ways to improve the schools environment in a more Eco-friendly sense. And we look after the school greenhouse. And I need you to go because you're the closest to my house other than Will, whose busy."_

_I sighed. "Whatever."_

_I sat in math, staring blankly at the board as the teacher ranted on and on. It seemed to go as fast as a one legged dog on tranquillisers._

_When the bell finally rung, I went to the bus and got off one stop earlier than usual. I walked over to Layla's house and used the key she had given me. _

_The house was really quiet and I felt like I was intruding, but I went upstairs anyways. Hippie said she was in the guest room next to her own. _

_A quick glance around the room revealed no sign of the ill super. I was about to shut it again thinking it was the wrong door, but a second glance and poking out of the mounds of duvets and blankets on the, I noticed there was a few sprawled bits of familiar brown curls._

_I took a step in the room with a squeak of the floorboard. The mountains of duvets ruffled at the sound and a head poked out._

_"Parker!" I exclaimed._

_"Peace!" She mimicked with a blocked nose._

_I walked up to her and tore away the blankets, knowing your not meant to be too hot when your ill. She snatched back the last one before I could take it away._

_"Parker. Let go." I said, trying to pull it away from her without ripping it._

_"No. It's too cold." She grumbled._

_I tore it away with one final tug. She was still in her pyjamas, showing off her battered body. It was a light purple almost everywhere. I started heating up instinctively._

_"Parker." I growled in a deep voice. "Who did that to you?"_

_"Relax, Peace. It's just hard getting down numerous stairs as a hamster." She croaked. I cooled. "And why are you here?"_

_"Layla asked me to check on you because she has a hippie meeting she had to go to." _

_I got up and went to the bathroom where Layla said there was some fever pills. When I came back, Parker was tucked in a ball, shivering on the bed._

_Putting the pill into a glass of water that was on her bedside table, I sat on the end of the bed._

_"Layla said you've got to drink this."_

_She sat up obediently and grabbed the water to chug it down in a few gulps and give it back to me. Then she flopped back in the same position as before. I reached over to put the glass back on the bedside table, brushing her arm on the way._

_I was about to stand back up when she grabbed my hand and pulled me back down with surprising force._

_"Your so warm, Peace!" She said, practically hugging my arm. _

_I sighed and rolled my eyes. I couldn't help smirking a bit too. "Parker. Get off my arm."_

_"I will if you give me back my duvets."_

_"No."_

_"Yes."_

_I tried to pull my arm out of her grasp but she held on tighter._

_"Uh-uh. Give me back my duvets and I'll give you back your arm."_

_I stood up and yanked out my arm as fast as I could. It slipped out of her grasp._

_"Fine. Let me die from the cold." She grumbled while lying back down._

_She pretty-much fell straight to sleep. I knew that she couldn't get too hot with a fever, but it was so tempting to warm her up when she was shivering helplessly._

* * *

Miya POV.

I went back to school the next day, determined to overcome my illness. I still wasn't a hundred percent but I wasn't going to stay in bed for as long as I had to. I walked off the bus with my ill-super pills and went to my locker.

Warren was getting his books from his locker a few one's down.

"Thanks for helping me yesterday." I thought I should say.

Warren shrugged. "It's fine." He said. "Are you better now?"

I shrugged.

"You shouldn't be here, Parker. And what about your bruises." He finally turned to me and noticed I was dressed so I was showing no skin until my neck, and wrapped up in several layers. He rolled his eyes. "You know, the plan of covering them up might have worked, but we have to get changed for Skill Development later."

My face dropped. _Damn_ it! He chuckled at my reaction and left for his lesson.

I walked into math a few minutes later. Math was getting boring at Sky High, nothing was really challenging me and the teacher was kind of strange.

When the bell rang, we all handed in our worksheets to make a pile on the side of his desk.

"Ms. Parker. May I have a word?" Mr. Anson asked.

I spun on my heels, resisting the urge to roll my eyes by biting my lip.

"Yeah?" I came and stood in front of hm.

"Please, sit down." I grabbed a stall and sat in front of his desk.

"I know math is a subject you enjoy, is it not?" I shrugged. "I'm sorry I'm not setting you harder stuff that I am positive you are capable of." Was I that obvious? "But, you must be set the work at the same standards as your classmates. We tried setting before, but there is such a large range of abilities and not enough students. It didn't work out. We actually tried a math club once, before I worked here. For people as good as yourself. Wait here, I still have the picture."

That's what I mean by 'odd'. Why would I want to see a picture of a math club? Why would he bother showing me?

He held out an old photo of four students. A girl and three boys. The girl had brown hair and a pretty frame. The boy stood next to her had curly hair and glasses. The boy next to him had his arm swung around his shoulder, like they were good friends and had a little circular tattoo on his wrist with funny patterns on it. The fourth guy was grinning madly and had a funny afro. They were all standing in front of a long board with lots of equations on it.

I noticed out the corner of my eye that Mr. Anson was looking at me. He was watching my face. That was creepy. I instantly put the photo down, creeped out.

"That's nice." I said, standing up.

"I thought I would let you know that you haven't gone by unnoticed and that I am aware of your skill. You can go to lunch now."

I pretty-much sprinted out the door. Warren was waiting for me outside; we had kind of made an unspoken rule that we would go to lunch together because sometimes all the Freshmen had to go places and we would miss them and have no one to sit with if we missed each other.

"You took your time." He said.

I grabbed his arm and sped down the hallway. "Why are we going so fast?"

"Because that teacher creeps me out." I said, letting go of his arm.

We walked through the cafeteria doors.

"Mr. Anson?" He asked. I nodded. "Why?"

"He's… just weird." I said, unable to find a word.

Warren stared at me like I was crazy, but shrugged it off and grabbed his lunch.

**A/N Please review! You will make me smile if you do! xxxx**

** ~Review Reply~**

**Stargazer1364-****_ Ha! I had a bunny before. It ran away though ;( I've never had a guinea pig before though, but they're sooo cute! xxx_**


	8. Suspicion

**A/N Hey. Im really flattered by the amount of views this story has already got, and followers, but 8 reviews for 28899 words. I dont know. I just would relly appreciate more. Its not much effort to click on the box below and type in a word or two. They really make me happy. So yeah. Please R&R**

**Enjoy xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Unwanted Suprise**

I walked into Skill Development with Warren. We were practicing our powers today, so I hurried over to our corner before no one could notice how battered I was.

"Oh my gosh, Miya! What happened?" A girl asked.

"I was trying to go down stairs as a hamster. Don' try it."

I got a couple more people ask what happened and a few stares.

"Do they hurt?" Warren asked.

"No. If I turned into a small animal, they would but my human form is stronger and only shows the colouring. I can barely feel them."

"Okay. What do you want to work on today?" Warren asked.

"What about you. We always do mine. Let's do yours?" I said.

He raised a brow at me.

"What?" I asked.

"No offence Parker, but I don't think you will be very useful to practice my powers on. And I think my powers are pretty under control." He said.

I put on a face of mock-offence. "And why am I not useful to your power? I seem to remember you couldn't hit me in Save the Citizen."

I saw him looked at my bandaged fingers from the small burn he had made.

"That was my fault more than your aim. And it isn't exactly a big burn." I said.

"Maybe I didn't want to hit you. Like you didn't want to hit me."

"Fine. Let's do mine." I said, stepping further away from him so we could practice. " But you couldn't tr-."

"Just take your shields down, Parker." He interrupted.

I pushed my power to the front of my mind and instantly felt more comfortable. It felt unnatural not to have it there.

Warren squinted at me. "Do you know your eyes go a darker purple when you put them down?"

I shook my head, keeping control over my power and not letting the curiosity over take me. I was about to say something but I didn't want to distract myself.

"Okay. Can you think of an animal and just focus on it, the texture, pattern, coat, noise, facts."

I thought about what I smelt like as a panther. How I could see, hear. What my coat felt like. It probably wasn't a good animal to practise on but it was the first one that came to mind.

As I thought of each sense, one by one and hard enough it started becoming my reality. My vision grew brighter and sharper, the contrast stronger. My hearing became louder and I could hear footsteps from outside of the room. I could focus on one sound at a time and block all the other out, or just her everything together. I could smell Warren from five metres away and I grew smaller and more energetic. I instinctively went on all fours and felt more flexible. Looking down I saw the black, silky coat. I inwardly smiled; I was getting much better at my power recently.

"Okay. Come back." I heard Warren say.

I grew back into my human form in under five seconds.

I squealed happily. "I did it!"

Warren only smiled after staring at me for a while. I rose an eyebrow.

"Bit delayed, but I'll accept." I said, referring to his late response to my victory.

"No. Your eyes are still dark."

My eyes flung open; I realised I still had my powers forward and my barrier down.

"I'm going to talk to you. You're going to keep your shield down." Warren said.

I nodded nervously, focusing again.

"What did you do on the week-end?" He asked.

"You were there."

"Okay. What did you have for breakfast?"

I hesitated before I felt okay to answer without shifting.

"Um. Ur, cereal. Those chocolate rice thingy's." I replied robotically, not giving too much thought. "Coco pops."

"Did you like them?"

"No. I don't like chocolate cereal." I replied, equally as robotic.

"How can you not like chocolate cereal?"

"How _can _you? It's chocolate. For breakfast." I shuddered.

"Yeah. That's the point."

I momentarily forgot what I was meant to be focusing on because it felt normal. Warren and I quite regularly had pointless arguments. And each one had three sides; his side, my side and the right side.

"Do you know how bad it is for you though? It's not worth it. And it's _so _sweet."

"You might think that because you have an unhealthy-salt addiction." He said with a smirk.

"I am _not _'addicted'. I just like putting extra salt on my meals."

"And your dessert."

"That was one time!"

"Last Friday you had a mountain at the side just for your fries."

I glared at him. "I could say the say the same for you and chilli."

"Yeah but chilli's not un-healthy if you have too much of it. And I only have it because it makes me feel better because I have the power I have."

"What does being a pyrokinestaticisia have to do with chilli?"

"Pyrokinetic."

"Whatever."

He grinned. "I think you've reached a capability curb."

"No I haven't!" I said defensively, not knowing what it was.

He laughed. "Thats not an insult. It's like a growth spurt but with your power control. Most supers get them close to when they get their powers, and you're a late bloomer so it's understandable." He explained.

"Like I can suddenly control it better?" I asked, calming down.

He nodded and I grinned.

"So I can keep it down?"

"Looks like it. But I'd still be careful."

I almost screamed with excitement. It's like having a chocolate bar under your nose for months and finally being told you can eat it. It felt so much better not having to put it behind the barriers.

"Try turn into something you haven't been before. Like a… Like an albatross."

I grinned eagerly; I had always wanted to fly.

I thought of pictures I had seen in the past of a Wandering Albatross- the largest wing span for a flying bird. I pictured the view I had seen from the plane over to Maxville. I spelt out the name in my head over and over gain while flashing images of it into my mind. Sure enough- I started shrinking. My feet became large talons and my arms became _huge _three-metre-long wings. They felt heavier than arms but my body felt lighter.

Opening my eyes, everything that was moving was slightly blurry but not annoyingly. Sounds were sharper – but a different 'sharper' than a panther or tiger.

I couldn't focus on one thing for too long. I had half the birds' instincts and half my own.

I looked around and up, inwardly smiling, and spread out my _giant_ wings – like _huge._ So huge Warren had to get out the way. I started running forward - careful not to catch anyone's legs - and leapt into the air, making big flaps with my wings. It felt awkward but natural at the same time, but I got off the ground and swooped over people's heads, one flap sending me metres. I was unfamiliar with the style so I wobbled a bit, nowhere near as graceful as usual birds but good enough for me. I flew higher up into the large gym and looked down.

I don't think I had been that happy since I could remember. I can't even describe how amazing it felt to have wings and be able to finally use your powers. It's like the person who said I could eat the chocolate said I could have superpowers too.

I swooped down, accidently knocking Warren on the head with my wings. Once I was back on my talons, I changed back into my human form - faster than I had done before.

I squealed and jumped around like a lunatic. Warren stared at me like I was crazy but smirked a little too.

* * *

"What's up with little Ms. Sunshine?" Magenta asked dryly.

I was barely able to eat my lunch my smile was so big.

"She reached a capability curb." Warren explained.

"Oh." The table said in unison.

"I can use my powers now without the threat that I might cut someone to sushi. But don't provoke me - I still have most of their instincts when I change."

"Sushi is fish." Warren said.

I glared at him and kicked him under the table. He chuckled.

"The point is that I can control them better but not totally."

"Maybe you could learn more about it on Chalk Talk day." Layla smiled.

"What's 'Chalk Talk' day?"

"I'm not completely sure; I haven't been to one yet. Warren has though."

Warren sighed. "It's a day where the Super Embassy and the school link up. We all go to an abandoned office building so that we can have a bunch of lectures from Super's that have a similar power to your own. Or know something to do with it."

"Why an office block?"

"Sky High moves everyday. No one can know where it is. Only the bus drivers and students who have flying cars can get there because it's wired into their routeing. A bunch of super heroes - ex students or not - can't all know how to get there." Ethan explained.

"When is this?" I asked.

"Next week." Zach supplied.

"Sounds fun." I said, dripping sarcasm.

"Very." Warren said with an eye roll.

* * *

I walked to Mad Science with Warren and we sat in our normal seats at the back. Mr. Medulla gave us a familiar box of unfamiliar objects. I sighed.

"Have fun." I said, turning to the window as usual.

He grabbed my arm.

"Un-uh. You're going to help."

I looked at him. "Seriously?"

"You've read enough. You should be near the same standard and perfectly capable of making a-"He turned the box around so he could see the label. "See, he even gave us the easiest one." He said, turning the box so I could see what he had given us.

It was a holograph-ray that only did small objects.

I sighed. "Whatever. But don't blame me if things suddenly disappear rather than appear."

"Pfft. That's impossible unless that's your power."

I glared at him and he smirked.

By 'help' he meant 'do'. He didn't touch it. We had swapped rolls. Even when I asked him what something was, he would shrug and smirk, then turn away.

"Where does this thingy go, because it only fits into that one but that one's already got a screw on it."

He looked at me, smirked and began to turn away. I smacked him on the arm but he kept turning.

I sighed and put it on a random place.

In half an hour, I had produced a ray… of some sort.

"Done."

Warren looked up and turned around. He stared at it with wide eyes.

"I told you." I said, looking at the piece of metal with a few bits of randomly spread wires.

"Well, that's… something." He said, a smile spreading across his lips.

He held it up and looked for the trigger. When he found something that was similar to what it's meant to look like, he pulled it.

"I'm not surprised." He said with an eye roll. I smacked him again.

"It's your fault."

He chuckled.

I sighed and looked up at the bell.

"Shouldn't it be the end of the lesson soon?"

"No this is the really long one. We still have a half hour left." Warren said.

I groaned.

Mr. Medulla came around and inspected everyone's work.

"Hmm. Interesting. It doesn't work though, does it? Nice attempt though Ms. Parker."

He walked off before I could even open my mouth.

"Okay everyone, we're going to move on to our next experiment. I know you analysed these in Freshmen year, but we're going to analyse them closer this year." He said while pulling out a trolley with things covered by a blanket.

He pulled off the blanket and revealed a bunch of glass tubes. Half of them had a pink stone and the other had a blue stone in them. The class groaned in unison. I looked at Warren in curiosity as to why the stones were so bad, he had the same look of disapproval on his face.

Medulla handed each boy a glass tube with a pink stone and the girls the one with a blue stone.

"Okay. If you don't remember from last year, the boys have to analyse theirs and then the girls. This is because when you take off the glass covering, it releases waves that will knock out a specific sex and make them loose the last five minutes of their memory. The pink one will affect females and visa versa. So we will have to wait five minutes before the boys can open theirs."

The class gossiped to their friends for five minutes.

"Okay. Girls, make sure you're in a stable position." The girls all shuffled in their chairs and groaned. I copied. "Okay boys. You may take the glass covering off."

I braced myself as the boys all took the covering off in unison. I saw the girls relax in their chairs. I moved to look around the room and Warren caught my movement in the corner of his eye.

"How come you're still awake?" He whispered.

"Just pretend I'm not, Peace." I hissed.

Then I closed my eyes and flopped back, pretending to faint by mimicking the girls.

He started looking at the stone and writing things down.

"I can't write down the side effects on you if it doesn't work on you." He whispered.

"Boo-hoo. Just look at someone else." I whispered and couldn't help thinking I would make a pretty good ventriloquist.

A few minutes later, a few girls started to wake up. I watched how the person on the next table woke up and I mimicked.

Every girl was awake and complaining about a head ache.

Warren looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged and faced the front.

"You're not shrugging this one off, Parker." He whispered.

"I'll tell you later." I said.

"Okay, girls. Have you all recovered?" There were a few groan as a reply. "Excellent. Okay, boys, get ready."

The boys all shuffled in their seats.

"Okay. You can take the glass off now since the girls spent at least five minutes recovering."

I looked at Warren and he nodded, so I pulled off the glass and one by one, the males all relaxed in their seats. Including Warren.

I looked at the stone and Warren and filled out the answers to the sheet of questions in front of us.

They all woke up about five minutes later. They were all groaning and rubbing their heads. Warren ignored his head-ache and sat up.

Medulla was collecting all the sheets from the tables just as the bell rung.

I gathered my stuff and walked out the door. Warren stuck to my side like glue.

I was about to walk out the main doors after I had dropped my stuff in my locker, but I was pulled away by my arm.

Warren dragged me down an empty corridor and into an empty classroom. We assumed our positions as before; him at the door and me on the teachers desk.

"What's up with the classrooms? Couldn't we go to a café and have some tea or something?"

He looked at me, his face neutral.

"How come you could do that?"

"Why should I tell you?" I stalled.

"Because it made me fail an assignment. And it's impossible unless you have a power that can deflect it. You don't have that power."

"So basically, you're just nosy."

He smirked a little.

"So, how come?"

I sighed and bit my lip. My tone became more serious.

"You know how I couldn't remember anything when I was little" He nodded. "Well, I came out of that apartment with, uh- loads of… wounds. Amongst them, the doctors found a small scab of dried blood. They didn't think anything of it until I had a shower and all the blood rinsed away. Inspecting my body again, they found a small whole where the scab was."

Warren furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Well, they worked out it was from an injection from a really big needle. They quickly took a blood sample before whatever it was could get out my system. The doctor's found out it was a huge over dose of some drug the people had given me. I can't remember the name, but that's what caused me to loose my memory. They were surprised I even survived by how much I had been given. It made me weak and I fainted a few times. But it also made me immune to any sleeping, knockout or memory-loss drug."

The room was silent for a while.

"Who's 'the people'?" Warren asked.

"The doctors?" I asked confusedly.

"No. You said, 'Some drug _the people_ had given me'." He quoted.

I shrugged. "Well I didn't get those injuries from tripping over."

"What kind of injuries?"

I didn't answer.

His eyes widened and a look of sympathy and curiosity came over his face.

"Why would anyone-"

"I don't know." I interrupted, my eyes starting to water.

I quickly rubbed the water away, but it was just replaced with more.

"So many things about my life that I don't know… Why. Or what or how or when." I said. "I don't even now what happened to my parents. I feel guilty for not even remembering what they look like. I could pass them on the street and I wouldn't know. Or be reading their names on a gravestone and have no clue." I paused. "All the orphans say 'my parents died in a car accident. I stayed with my uncle for a bit but he couldn't afford to keep me. What about you?' They ask me the whole time. I can't even remember all the different excuses I've told anymore. I don't even know if they're dead or not."

I completely forgot Warren was in the room until he wiped a tear from my cheek. He wrapped a warm arm around my back and sat next to me.

After a while I started to calm down and came to my senses.

"We've missed the bus!" I exclaimed, springing up and taking him by surprise.

"It's fine. I missed the bus this morning and drove in."

I laughed a bit. "How come everyone has flying cars these days?"

"Come on. Let's go."

We got up and walked out of the school and towards his car. I got in on the passenger side. He drove off the edge and it started flying. It was just like the bus, so –naturally- I felt like I was going to puke. It's weird how I didn't feel ill when I was a bird earlier.

"Parker, you are the only person I know of to still get ill when flying." He chuckled.

I was pale and looking straight ahead, not answering, which made him laugh more.

We drove up outside the orphanage not too long afterwards.

"Thanks, Warren." I said before getting out the car.

I opened my dorm door to all wide-smiling girls. I had grown to like them all over the time I had been here.

"Who was that?" Bella asked.

"Who was who?" I asked, going over to my bed to put my phone on charge.

"The guy who you were in that car with."

"Oh, Warren. He goes to the same school as me." I said, sitting on my bed.

The girls all came over and sat on surrounding beds.

"He's cute." Bella said, teasing me.

"Do you like him?" A cute seven year-old called May asked.

"He's a friend guys." I said, cooling off their excitement.

"That wasn't the question." Edith pointed.

"Ooh! Avoiding the question!" Bella stirred. I glared at her and she grinned.

"Guys, I do not like Warren like that!"

"Denial!" Edith said and the girls nodded.

I rolled my eyes. "Well how else is there to say that I don't like him like that? Agreeing?"

"She has a point." May said.

The girls started to diffuse to their own beds and the usual chatter sounded through the air.

I caught eye with Bella before she left. She put two fingers to her eyes and pointed them at me, then smirked and walked off.

I sighed and followed her to dinner.


	9. Unwanted Surprise

**A/N Okay. I had to split this chapter in half because it was 7 thousand and something words and it didnt let me. SO its a bit akward really because the 'unwanted suprise' hasn't come yet and that was the name of the last chapter aswell.**

**Anyway**

**Enjoy!xxx**

**Wild Ways**

* * *

**Unwanted Surprise **

The weekend came quickly. I walked over to Warrens and knocked on the door.

"Come in." He called.

I turned the handle and walked into the familiar house. Warren was in the kitchen pouring two glasses of orange juice.

"Hey." I said, collapsing into the comfy armchair by the door.

He passed me my juice and I gulped it down thirstily. When he turned back around with his glass in hand, mine was empty.

"Jeez, Parker. You want another one?"

I nodded and he got me another one. Then we walked into his living room to sit on the floor.

He gave me some questions while he did some other homework opposite me.

"Do you know what 'my arm engulfs in flames and I can throw fire at people' is in Spanish?" He asked after a while.

"Mi engullir brazos en llamas y puedo lanzar fuego a la gente." I said. " At least I think that's engulf. And I only know shoot, not throw."

"Could you write that down?" he smirked.

I rolled my eyes and wrote it on a piece of paper.

"We have to go." Warren said as he looked at his watch after copying the answer down.

I nodded and stretched my legs before I got up and grabbed my coat.

"How far away is it?" I asked when he joined me by the door.

"It's walk able." He replied while turning the door knob.

When he opened it, the skies were dark but a layer of snow was falling onto the sidewalk. The snowflakes turned orange under the street lamps' glow. It was pretty.

I took a step out and instantly felt the cold as it sent a shiver down my spine.

We walked down the path that had a foot of slush on it. I winced when it soaked into my converse. Putting my hands in the pocket of my denim jacket I pulled the hood of my hoodie over my head.

"What day is that Chalk Talk thing?" I asked, breaking the un-awkward silence.

"After school on Tuesday."

I groaned and bit my lip.

"How long is it?"

"Five hours. It's until eight thirty." He replied. "We're here."

He opened the door to a cute looking restaurant. I quickly saw the others at one of the large booths (they weren't very hard to spot).

"Hey guys." I greeted, sitting on the end of the bench.

"Hey, Miya. Hi, Warren." Everyone replied when Warren sat on the end of the opposite bench.

A waitress came and gave Warren and I some menu's.

We were all there for Magenta's birthday. But she didn't like her birthday because of all the attention. She had rejected the dinner at first, but we assured her that it was just a dinner that happened to be on her birthday. But it was secretly for her, even she knew.

"Happy birthday, Mag." I whispered. I knew we weren't meant to but I felt like I should say it anyway

"Don't." She held up a hand before the others could repeat the phrase, and glared at me.

I cheekily smiled and looked at my menu. When the waitress came back to take all of our orders, I realised I still had some gum in my mouth.

"Margarita with mushrooms please." I told her.

When she left the others were all staring at me.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"You like mushrooms?" Zach asked for everyone.

"No. I like to order them so I can take them home and burn them later." I said mock-serious.

They all shook their heads.

"Guys, do you know where a bin is? I still have gum." I asked.

Warren shrugged. "There's probably one round the back."

I nodded and got up to move to the front door. The air seemed to have gotten colder. The snow had stopped but had settled on the floor. It crunched under my feet as I walked to the side of the restaurant.

The wind stopped as I walked in between the two buildings. I walked down to the end of the dark ally. The bin was large and heavy. I lifted up the lid and spat my gum into it. The slam of the lid closing echoed in the alley.

I tensed when it was followed by another sound. My heart rate rose. My adrenalin went wild. The familiar click filled my ears. I turned around to see a figure at the end of the alley. He walked closer, his arms outstretched. A gun in his hands.

"You better wish you've got something to my likeing in those pockets or you'll be sorry."

I took a deep breathe; I had left everything on the table. He was too far away to do anything to him. I couldn't move, he had a loaded AMT Hardballer with a silencer on the end.

I thought of my power, but no animal came to mind that would help and not just give away my power and still be a target.

I knew that it was more than likely he wouldn't shoot if it ever came to that. I moved to slowly put my hands in my pockets to 'see if anything was in them'. I knew there wasn't, but rule number one in situations like these: stall.

I stopped before my hands got to my pockets.

"How sorry?" I asked, in a tone that might suggest lower than my actual IQ.

"I guess you'll find out if you don't."

I slowly put my hands in my pockets and pretended to rummage, keeping my eyes out for exits. I thought of jumping on the bin and onto the next low roof but it would take too long. Taking my hands out of my front pockets, I pretended to check my jean pockets.

"Are you retarded? Hurry up!" He whispered, moving forward for more of a threat.

"No, I'm not retarded. But my mother is and I don't appreciate the term." I thought of an innocent cover.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Are you for real?"

"Yes. I'm not imaginary silly!" I snorted, knowing he wouldn't shoot if I was annoying him by being innocent.

He blinked. "Are you stupid or something?" he asked menacingly and stepping forward, that was stupid. Just a little closer my friend.

"No. I'm top in my Math class." I said proudly and loudly. "Even though I am in the bottom set. But I'm still the best of the worst." I said, pretending to wonder off in thought. "My teacher, Ms. Heft, even said I could-"

"Hurry up!" He hissed and stepped forward threateningly.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot what I was doing for a second, you know when you walk in a room and you-"

"Hurry the fuck up!" He hissed.

I nodded. And checked my back pocket, ignoring my nerves. He still wasn't close enough and I was running out of pockets to 'check'.

When I was taking my hands out of my last set of pockets, there was a flash of light.

A ball of fire was sent straight for the hand with the gun of my attacker. It hit it and he yelped but didn't let go. But I took the distraction.

I ran up with super speed at him and jumped in the air. I spun around and launched a backward kick at his face. He turned at the impact but surprisingly didn't fall. He stumbled but before he could aim, I punched his ribs and grabbed his arm. He thought I was going to grab the gun and held on tighter. He stomped on my foot forcefully. I tried not to flinch. I made sure he saw my innocent smile before I grabbed his wrist and spun it in a circular motion so his palm was facing his face. His knees buckled and he dropped his gun as I bent it forward. I caught the gun with my other and hand and kicked him forcefully in the ribs. He fell, winded on the floor. I held the gun out at him. He looked at me, on the verge of unconsciousness with a battered face.

I expertly unloaded the gun and threw it into an open bin bag, putting the ammo in my pocket.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_"Guys, do you know where a bin is? I still have gum" Parker said._

_I thought of the Paper Lantern, where I work. They had a couple around the back. _

_"There's probably one 'round the back." I shrugged._

_She nodded and got out of her chair._

_"Hey, Maj. What did you get this morning?" Layla asked brightly._

_"I only agreed to this dinner if you didn't fuss over my birthday. I will actually get up and leave if someone says anything about it again." Magenta threatened._

_Layla opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it._

_The table was silent. Layla sighed._

_"I like this place. It has a lot of energy." She said._

_I internally rolled my eyes._

_"It looks like there could be a vampire around the corner." Magenta said._

_It was a rather gothic-themed restaurant._

_"Nah. Vampires haven't been thought out properly. They're the worst fictional characters." Zach said._

_"How come?" Magenta asked._

_"They're not very realistic."_

_"Yeah. Neither are mermaids. That's kind of the point in a_ fictional _character." She rolled her eyes._

_"No. Stuff like; 'a steak to the heart could kill them'. That would kill anyone."_

_"He has a point." Will said._

_"And why don't they get AIDS from sucking all that blood?" Zach accused._

_"They could have an immune system similar to a mosquito's." Ethan supplied._

_"Thank you, Ethan. They could be part mosquito." Magenta said._

_"I thought they were part bat?" Layla asked._

_I sighed. Where was Parker at times like these? Actually, where was, Parker?_

_Their conversation dragged on as the food came and I watched the door._

_"No. Vampires have so much cooler coffins than mummies!" Will said._

_I couldn't believe they were having this conversation. Where was Parker? _

_I carried on watching the door._

_"Mummies don't _have_ brains. Hey, you would make a perfect mu-"_

"_I'm going to go look for Parker." I cut off._

"_Oh yeah. Where did she go?" Layla asked._

_"The bin." I said, getting up._

_She raised an eyebrow. "Why would she spend so long a-"_

_I was already walking towards the door before I could hear her finish the question._

_The bell on top of the door chimed as I opened it and walked out. It was snowing more heavier and it was darker on this side of the street. It looked freezing. I was glad I couldn't feel it._

_"No. I'm top in my math set. Even though I am in the bottom set. But I'm still the best of the worst." I heard Parkers voice._

_What the fuck?_

_The snow crunched under my feet as I made it to the side of the restaurant. I stopped in my tracks as I saw the outline of a figure with outstretched arms at the end of the alley._

_A deep wave of hot anger washed over me._

_"My teacher, Ms Heft, even said I could-"_

_I raised my palms and aimed them at the man as the fury coursed through my body._

_"Hurry up!" He hissed and stepped a bit closer._

_So that was Parkers tactic._

_"Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot what I was doing for a second, you know when you walk in a room and you-"_

_I would've smirked at that if Parker said that somewhere else._

_"Hurry the fuck up!" He sneered threateningly._

_He took a step forward and angled his body in a way I could hit him and not Parker. I aimed at the gun._

_Parker immediately responded by playing ninja. I ran down the alley to help, but by the time I was there, she had him at gunpoint. _

_I lit up and instinctively and stepped in front of Parker protectivly._

* * *

Miya POV

He lit up and opened his mouth to say something at the man. I held up my hand.

"Come on. Let's go." I panted.

"If you ever do anything to her I will find you and burn you so much that people won't even be able to find your ashes." He hissed through gritted teeth and threw a fire ball at his arm to prove his point. The man yelped at the burn.

I grabbed Warren's arm while it wasn't on fire and dragged him away.

The impact of the whole situation slapped me when we walked towards the restaurant. My knees felt weak and I stumbled. Warren caught me before I could fall.

We walked into the restaurant and I hobbled over to our booth and sat down pleasurably.

I sighed and shut my eyes. My breathes were a bit shaky.

"Um. I think we're missing something." Zach spoke for everyone.

I ignored them as I sat there, with my eyes still closed. Warren didn't say anything either.

"Warren. What happened?" Will asked confusedly.

Warren paused for a second. I nodded.

"Someone tried to mug her."

The table gasped and I opened my eyes. They all stared at me with curiosity and concerned eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Miya! What happened?" Magenta gasped.

I tried to talk but nothing came out. I tried again.

My voice came out strained. "I-I went outside to the bins and I turned around and-and there was a man with a gun." I froze in thought. _That_ was why I was so scared.

"What is it?" Warren asked.

My eyes widened and I leapt painfully out of my seat. I pretty-much ran into the bathroom.

I gripped onto the sink tightly and breathed deeply. I splashed my face with cold water to refresh me and dried it. I took a deep breath and walked out. I sat back at the table. Everyone was trying not to look at me, knowing I didn't want to be looked at. But they had all finished their meals and had nothing to do so they kept glancing. I couldn't blame them. They were just worried. Warren wasn't trying to hide it though. He was just full on staring.

I took a deep breath.

"I'm going to go home now. I'll talk to you on Monday. Happy birthday Maj." I said robotically.

I put some money on the table to pay for my un-touched pizza and pulled on my coat. Warren copied me and got up too.

"I'm fine." I said.

He ignored me and walked towards the door. I followed him. There was no point in trying to change his mind.

We walked out in silence. It was snowing again and just as cold. He was practically glued to my side.

"You didn't have to walk me home." I said after we had turned down a few streets.

He ignored me.

"Warren, could you say something? It's like talking to a brick wall."

He sighed. "Are you alright, Parker?"

I didn't answer. I wasn't going to deny it. But I wasn't going to admit it either.

"There's something else, isn't there?"

I nodded and took a deep breath. He didn't prompt me, just waited.

"Yeah." I swallowed. "You know that skill development class with the fighting arena?" He nodded " You know how I ran off? It was because, when I was trying so hard not to hurt him. I couldn't control it. It's like a second nature. I could see how angry he was at me and how much he wanted to hurt me and my focus snapped. I can't control it." I shivered at the memory. "Well, today. It was like I was wired in a way to get out of that kind of a situation. I even knew what kind of gun he had! I knew the odds of him shooting me. I knew how to act, to stall time, draw him closer to me. I-it just scares me _how_ I know. What kind of things must've happened for me to have to know that kind of stuff? What kind of situation was I in that someone would think they had to teach me that kind of stuff?"

I fought back tears. I wasn't going to cry over this again. I bit my lip really hard, bringing pain to try and stop them coming from my eyes.

A large hand stopped me walking and turned me around. The cold wasn't helping me try to stop my lip from trembling. I looked down so my hair was covering my face.

Warren lifted my chin up with his finger and thumb.

"It's not bad to think like that. And whatever that someone taught you, it worked. Because your here."

He stared into my eyes as I let the tears roll down my cheeks.

He wrapped his arms around my back and hugged me tightly, his body heating me up. I silently cried into his shirt. _  
_

We stayed like that for god-knows how long. My tears had stopped. My breathing was just shaky.

As I started to calm down, the adrenalin and shock fading, I realised how badly my foot was hurting.

Warren pulled away and stared at me again. Then he cocked his head slightly and leaned forwards. I stopped breathing when he came closer and lightly brushed my lips against his.

I stared at him when he pulled away. _What does that mean? _I tried to ask.

He turned around and started walking down the sidewalk again. I started to walk but winced when I put pressure on my foot. Warren turned around.

"What happened?" He asked with concern.

"Nothing. I'm fine."

I started walking again and hissed through gritted teeth as I put my weight on it again. Warren came up to my side and wrapped an arm around my back so I could lean my weight on him.

"What happened?" He asked.

"He stomped on my foot. I didn't think it was that bad."

Warren stopped and let go of me. He walked a bit forward and stood still.

"What are you-"I stopped when the snow around him melted and the sidewalk dried.

When a big circle had been melted he came back and bought me over. He gestured for me to sit down on the ledge on the side. I raised eye brow at him but did it anyway. I sighed when I sat down. It was like a heated seat.

Warren bent over and put my foot in his hands. He slowly undid the laces and slid it off. I bit my lip and breathed out with pain. When it was off, he put the shoe on the floor and took off my sock.

It revealed my throbbing foot. It was a blue, grey, green colour and truly disgusting. It had a boot imprint carved into my skin. I winced and looked away. Warren breathed in through gritted teeth.

"You should've told me earlier."

"I didn't know earlier."

Warren grabbed my shoe and stood up. He walked out of the warm circle and crouched down. He scooped up the fresh snow in my shoe.

"Thanks, Warren." I said sarcastically.

"Well, I can't use my hands." He said.

He came back over to me with the snow and grabbed my sock? I raised a brow at him quizzically. He poured the snow so it was in the middle of the sock and the ends were empty. He crouched back down and put the part with the snow on my foot and tied a knot at the bottom with the ends.

"Thanks. But how am I going to walk genius?" I asked, gesturing to the massive sock-knot under my foot.

He furrowed his brows and walked out the circle again. He held my wet shoe and dried it, then came back and put it on the bottom of my foot so it was hanging off my toes. It was really warm.

He held out his hand, I grabbed his wrist and hauled my self up. Wrapping his arm around my back again, I started limping down the street.

* * *

**A/N Please review!**

* * *

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	10. Lots of Bills

**A/N. This one hasn't got much going on but I promise you the next chapter is going to be more exciting. I ****_promise. _**

**Please review! I make this for the love of writing; I put it on the internet to see what people think and for your entertainment. How am I meant to know what you think or if your being entertained if you don't tell me? **

**Anyways…. Yeah.**

**Enjoy… xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Bill the 331****st**

The next morning I woke up at around nine. I would've slept for longer but it's hard with the girls' constant chatter. You tell them to shut up or go to the lounge and they whisper for about three seconds before the noise is just as loud as before.

I lay in bed, not thinking about anything in particular. I was just exhausted.

"Hey sleeping not-so-beauty." Bella teased, sitting on her bed next to mine.

She grabbed a hairbrush and glided it through her hair.

"Where were you last night? I didn't see you come in."

I shuddered at the mention.

"Birthday dinner. You were asleep when I got in." I mumbled into my duvet.

"Come on. Cafeteria is closed. Do you want to get a muffin or something from the patisserie?" She asked.

I groaned when I realised how hungry I was. I reluctantly swung my legs out.

"What happened to your foot?" Bella asked, looking at my bandaged foot.

I had got a dressing for it the night before in the first aid box that's in the room behind the desk in the lobby.

"Oh. Someone dropped something on it, by accident." I lied smoothly while rubbing my eyes.

I lifted my foot onto the bed so I could take a look at it. I unwrapped the bandage slowly. Bella hissed in, through gritted teeth.

"Ouch. That must've been something pretty heavy. And with odd markings." She said. "Has someone seen it? Something could be crushed or something."

"Yeah." I lied. "It's fine. Just badly bruised."

Something probably was crushed but supers healed quickly with things that aren't severe. So I wasn't bothered.

I studied my foot. The swelling had gone down but the bruises were still as dull. I wrapped it up again and stood up, putting my weight on my left leg.

I limped over to the mirror. When Bella said 'not-so-beauty' she probably didn't mean it, but it was correct. My hair defied the laws of gravity and stuck up at odd angles. My cheek was printed with the cotton texture on the pillow and was red while the other was overly pale. I blinked t myself and went to the bathroom.

I had a quick shower and got changed in some comfortable tracksuit bottoms and a top. I put on a little bit of makeup so I looked slightly presentable, and brushed my hair.

"That was quick." Bella said, getting up.

We walked – well actually, I hobbled- to the pastry shop on the other side of the street. We sat in the lounge and ate our breakfast while watching whatever the youngsters were watching. Bella and I were the oldest people at the orphanage; we took a sort-of motherly role. Even though I am in _no_ way like a mother. At all. But the younger ones respected us and trusted us with their little problems. Like, the other day, a cute five year old was bullied on her birthday and was crying on Bella's lap while she rocked her for about an hour. I offered to beat the bully up. That was an example of our contrasting ways of helping.

A couple of times people have asked me to confront a bully with them. I was the 'intimidating back-up'. Even though I wasn't exactly 'intimidating'. I'm actually rather small, but I can insult easily and am useful in an argument.

* * *

The next morning I limped off the bus wearing jeans and a hoodie. I was slowly getting extremely annoyed with my foot. Being me- I feel like I'll explode if I don't exercise within forty-eight hours. So I was slowly going crazy.

Math went by quickly. When I was in the hallway, I was dreading seeing Warren in languages. So much had been on my mind that I hadn't thought about… what happened on Saturday. I think it was just out of sympathy, but I still was confused. I didn't' realise it, but a little part of me hoped for it to have meant what a kiss was meant to mean.

I walked to the back and sat down as Warren walked in. I couldn't look at him, so I looked out the window. Half way through the lesson, we were filling in a worksheet when Warren finally spoke.

"You alright, Parker?" He whispered.

I shrugged.

He furrowed his brows but ignored it and carried on with his work.

When the bell went, I took my time with getting to my locker. Warren stood next to me as I limped down the halls. I put my stuff away and we walked to the cafeteria.

"Hi." I said as we sat down in our usual places.

"Hi, Miya." Layla said, trying not to be as enthusiastic as usual. She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped herself and turned to Warren to cover her tracks. "Hi, Warren."

Warren nodded and ate his food. The group made a strained conversation, all wanting to know what happened but not wanting to push me. I wasn't paying attention though. I was tapping my good foot on the floor and fidgeting with my fingers while looking around the room.

"What's wrong, Parker? Do you need to go to the bathroom or something?" Warren asked.

I glared at him and stuck out my tongue. He smirked.

"Well?" He asked.

"Nothing." I lied.

He raised an eyebrow, telling me he knew I was lying.

"It's stupid." I said.

He kept on staring, asking me to continue.

I sighed. "I really need to exercise. I haven't done any since Friday."

The group laughed, except for Warren.

"Wait. You're serious?" Zach asked.

"Yes." I said

"I know what you mean. The more you do, the more you need to do it." Warren said.

I nodded, he probably did some physical stuff at home judging by his figure.

"And I do a lot." I said.

"For fun?" Zach raised a brow.

"Yes. I don't do back flips by eating in front of the TV all day."

"You can do back flips?" He asked, his face lighting up.

"That's not the point. The point is, is I wouldn't have been able to keep on doing the stuff I could do when I was younger If I didn't work." I said. "And back flips are easy; people just don't do them because they don't have the balls and think they're going to land on their necks." I added Zach's face lit up again.

When the bell went we all got up for Save the Citizen.

Magenta, Layla and I made are way to the top of the bleachers once we were changed into our gym kit.

"Guys, I need your opinion on something."

They nodded.

"Well, I should probably start at the beginning." I said reluctantly and sighed. "Well, basically, my foot is hurt because when I finally could attack my attacker, he stomped on it really hard. But I won anyway. Then I came back to you guys, etcetera, etcetera. But when I-"I was cut off by Layla.

"But you were upset about something else weren't you?" She asked.

"Yeah, but that's not what I'm getting at." I sighed when they looked like they wanted to know. "I was upset because I knew how to get out of situations like that, the odds, what gun he had. It worried me _how_ I knew. But that's not what was going to ask you about." They nodded. "Well, you know when Warren left with me? Well… I was blabbering on about emotional stuff and crying a bit. We hugged and… well." I stopped when I saw their expressions. "What?"

Their smiles widened.

"Finally!" Magenta said to Layla, leaning on her shoulder as if she were exhausted.

"What?" I asked defensively.

"We've been waiting _so_ long for you guys to finally realise!" Layla exclaimed.

"Realise _what!_" I asked, getting slightly annoyed.

"That you like each other. He kissed you didn't he?" Magenta asked.

I blushed. "How did you know?"

"Because it's kind of obvious."

"How is it obvious?"

"The way you have half been ignoring him- half not. Where the conversation was leading just now…"

"Well. I was _going_ to ask you why you thought he did it. I thought it was just out of sympathy."

The two tried to keep a straight face, but failed-miserably. They burst out with laughter.

"What?"

"Guys don't _kiss_ –" She stopped when my name was heard.

We looked around in confusion.

"I think you were called by Boomer for Save the Citizen." Layla said.

"But I cant do Save the Citizen. I-"

"Parker! Get down here!" Boomer shouted.

I blinked but got up. I walked down, not towards the armour but towards Boomer.

"Coach Boomer. I can't play." I said when I was close to him. "I hurt my f-."

"Have you got a note?"

He repeated the same thing when we did Skill Development.

"No. But I really hurt my-"

"I'm not interested unless you have note. PUT YOUR ARMOUR ON!"

I blinked again, but I hobbled over to the armour anyway.

"Hi." I said to my partner who I had never seen before. She was bright blonde and wore strange clothing that flowed around her.

"I'm Miya. I-"

"I know." She said calmly. "You can shape shift."

I nodded. How did she know?

"I know from when you fought Warren and Will." She explained, her voice remained calm and dreamy. "I'm Clove."

"Oh. That's a really pre-"

"Thanks."

"Can you read mi-"

"No. This conversation happens a lot though." She said dreamily.

"What power do you have?"

"It's not very useful for this game. I can make people hallucinate."

"That's really useful. We could-"

"No. I can make people see miniature elves."

I blinked. Did I hear that right?

"You know those men in green? With the funny green hats and coat and the pointy shoes. But there this big." She held up her forefinger.

I raised my eyebrows and nodded.

"I know it's not very useful but they can distract." She said in the same floaty tone. "'I'll take on Larry. Your power isn't much use against his. He turns into a rock. You take on Miranda. She has ice powers."

I didn't get to answer because she turned around and walked into the arena.

I blinked and shook my head.

* * *

_Larry POV_

_The two girls were standing on the opposite end of the arena. I knew one of them could fight but I didn't know her power- but from what I'd seen, she didn't use it. The other one was a sophomore sidekick- but Miranda and I didn't know her power either._

_"Fight!" Boomer boomed._

_I was about to turn into my rock form when I saw a flash of green in the corner of my eye. I turned around, but I didn't see anything._

_"Yoo-hoo." A high-pitched voice called and then giggled._

_I looked down to see a little green man on my shoulder. What the-_

_"Larry!" Another voice squealed._

_I held up my arm and saw another one standing on it. They looked so real. I shook my head._

_"Hello."_

_"Ooh. I can see everything from up here."_

_"A-hahaha. Whoo-hoo." _

_A line of little men appeared on both shoulders and arms._

_I closed my eyes and focused on turning into a rock. I could feel myself grow and feel stronger. I felt invincible._

_"Whooa!" The little men said as they stumbled to keep their balance on my shoulders as I grew._

_When I was a full rock-man, I opened my eyes._

_"Whoa, Larry. You're a rock man."_

_"He's so strong."_

_"I think this is solid." One of them said, bending over and knocking on my shoulder. _

_He stood up, shaking his wrist. "Oww! Defiantly solid." He said in his high pitch voice._

_"No kidding, bird-brain."_

_I stared in amazement as they started bickering on my huge shoulders. I tried to focus on the fight, but they were so real._

Just a hallucination. Their not real.

_I locked eyes on the first target. Even though I had agreed to take on the other girl, I couldn't focus for any longer. So I ran forward for the one who could fight._

_The elves all sat on my shoulder, eating miniature popcorn and wearing 3D glasses._

_"Ooh."_

_"Aah."_

_"That girl can fight." One of them shouted to the others who all nodded._

_I shook my head and tried to ignore them._

_"Kick."_

_"Punch."_

_"Duck, girl! Duck!"_

_I stopped running. They were too distracting._

_I closed my eyes and told myself they weren't real. I lifted one off my shoulder and into my rock-palm._

_"Hey. Whoo-hoo." It chanted as it soared through the air. "I can fly, he can fly, we can fly, he can fly, we can fly!" He sung from 'Peter Pan'._

_I shook my head._

They are NOT real!

_With that in mind and my eyes closed. I forced my other hand down on him._

_The other elves gasped. I opened my hands and his crushed body fell to the floor._

_"You killed him!" An elf shouted and started crying._

_Then they all started crying. But one was angry and started stomping on my shoulder._

_"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kill him." I said, tears coming to my eyes from the guilt._

_Then I heard a faint stomping sound. I tuned around to the source of the noise. I was coming from the razors?_

_I kept watching and eventually, a line of green elves came around the corner. They had drums strapped around their shoulders and were hitting them with drumsticks. There was one to the side who was blowing a tune on the bagpipe._

_Then behind them emerged another row of elves without drums, and then another. Soon there were hundreds of thousands of elves marching towards me, the front row banging on their drums and one playing the bagpipe._

_I stood there as tears made my eyes blurry._

_"You killed our brother, Bill the three-hundred and thirty first. Prepare to feel revenge. We will avenge our brother." One said as the drums stopped._

_"I'm sorry." I tried._

_"For our brother!" The main elf shouted._

_"FOR OUR BROTHER! YAAAAA!" The army repeated as they charged towards me._

_The first few rows reached my feet and started stomping on them- it tickled. Others started to climb up my legs._

_All the ones with the drums went to the side, out of the way. Followed by some other elves without drums. They started to sing._

_"_O Foruna_" The drums hit. "_ Velut luna. Satu variabilis." _The choir sung._

_"FIRE!" I heard a high-pitch shout from the floor_

_A few rows on the floor flew miniature arrows with their miniature bows at my stomach-I couldn't feel them._

_"_Obumbrata et valata_" The choir continued_

_"FIRE" He commanded and another round of arrows came._

_I shook the elves off my feet and legs. A whole bunch of them flew through the air and landed a few meters away. They didn't get up._

_"I'm sorry!" I called._

_All of a sudden, the song the choir was singing belted out. _

_"_SORS SALUTIS ET VIRTUTIS MICHI NUNC CONTARIA_."_

_The elves on my shoulder where helping the climbing ones onto my shoulders. I brushed them off gently- so not to hurt them._

_"Villains WIN!" Someone shouted and the elves instantly vanished._

_I blinked and looked around. Miranda was tied up on the floor with what looked like a snake wrapped around her. The snake turned back into the girl who could fight while the other girl stood staring at the sky in thought with her hair wrapped around her finger at the other end of the arena. She hadn't moved since the start. The dummy was in shreds on the floor._

What the hell just happened?

* * *

Miya POV

I limped off, shivering and soaking wet. I couldn't feel my fingers they were so cold.

"Well done, Miya." Clove said, gliding over. "You're wet. And cold." She acknowledged as she came closer. "And bleeding."

"F-f-freeze p-power." I managed to get out.

I forced myself to the end of the arena, heading for a warm shower.

Layla walked by my side when I stepped out of the arena.

"Miya! That was so coo-" She stopped when she touched my arm. "Oh my gosh, you're freezing."

"Of Corse she's freezing! She went up against Miranda!" Magenta said, coming up on my other side.

"Oh yeah. And against you." Layla said, breathing through her teeth.

Why was I different to anyone else she fought? I raised an eyebrow at her while shivering and hugging my arms.

Layla and Magenta shared a knowing glance at each other.

"W-w-what?" I asked, still animatedly shivering.

"She used to go out with Warren. And she knows you're with him a lot…" Layla trailed off.

I shrugged. I couldn't care less in the state I was in at that moment.

"Actually, speaking of Warren…" Magenta looked over to him and waved him over.

I kept limping over to the changing rooms. But he caught up with us.

He frowned at me and gestured the others to step away so they didn't get burnt while he defrosted me by raising his temperature.

"I do love having a friend with pyrokinetistasia." I said once I was warm but wet, I knew it annoyed him when I said it wrong.

"For the last time. Py-ro-kin-e-sis." He said slowly.

I smirked and headed for the changing rooms again.

"Whatever, Peace." I said when I was a few meters away and my back was towards him.

An hour later, Warren and I were sitting in Hero History filling out a worksheet.

"How come you always write in capitals?" He asked, looking over at my sheet. "I thought it was just some neat-girlie thing. But you always do it." He aknowledged.

I blushed with embarrassment as I thought of the reason. But I couldn't hide it before he saw it. He smirked.

"How come?" He grinned.

"I just think it looks cool." I lied smoothly.

He raised a brow. "You're a good liar, Parker. But I know you better."

"I'm not lying." I double lied.

"Yes you are. Fine. Write normally then." He challenged.

I narrowed my eyes at him and turned to my page. I gripped my pen as I tried to remember how normal people wrote- joined up and stuff.

I wrote about a word with half the ink of my pen on the page from pressing down so hard. I wrote an extremely strained and messy **'Went to jail' **which was the next few words of my essay, before I put the pen down and gave up.

"I just don't like writing like that." I lied again.

He was smirking at my attempt on the paper.

"You can't right in the lower case?" He asked with a smirk.

I sighed. "Fine. I give. I can't write like that."

His smirk widened. "How come?"

I took a deep breath as my blush came back.

"I forgot how to write and had to start from scratch. The first thing you learn is capitals and I haven't bothered practising the lower case yet."

He hushed his laugh because we were still in a lesson.

"You haven't learnt how to write properly?"

"I have. I just… don't."

"Because you can't."

I didn't answer and carried on writing my essay. Warren laughed at my response.

"Mr. Peace! I will not tolerate that behaviour in a working environment." The teacher shouted. "Wait in the hallway."

Warren sighed with a smirk still on his face and got up.

I silently giggled to myself.

"You too Ms. Parker."

"What! I didn't do any-"

"Out!"

I gave a death-stare to Warren who was suppressing laughter.

I bit my lip and got up 'to wait in the hallway'. I shook my head at Warren when we got out, trying to keep a straight face.

* * *

The next day was snowy, dark and cold. I wore about five layers. I _hate_ cold weather.

I went into languages and sat next to Warren.

"I think I'm perfecting my Japanese." I said, excitedly.

Warren smacked his head with his hand.

"Another one?"

I nodded, grinning wildly. He shook his head.

"It's the first one I've learnt after my brain had been erased!"

"How did you figure out you knew those other languages?" Warren asked.

"People would speak them and I could understand. Or I could accidently say a sentence in another language. Trouble is, people just thought I was making my own language up, until someone came along who recognised it."

"So you could know more?"

I thought over that one.

"It's possible. If you speak in another language, I'll let you know if I can understand or not."

He nodded.

"On the topic of your memory loss-thing." He said, hushing his voice.

I nodded,

"I was thinking it over. I don't understand how you can be _immune_ to knockout, sleeping or memory loss. Your phagocytes can only make you immune to viruses, bacteria or other pathogens."

I shrugged. "Maybe it's a form of pathogen? Or it could be something else, but I don't think so."

"Hmm. I can see them being some sort of deformed pathogen. But that would mean your immune system is different."

I shrugged as the teacher walked in and the class went quiet.

When the bell went, we went to the Mad Science department.

We were the first to enter the classroom. I stopped in the doorway when I saw Mr. Anson in the experiments cupboard with Mr. Medulla.

"I never knew you ha a passion for science Mr. Anson." Medulla smiled.

"So what does this one do?" Anson asked, pointing to the blue stone we had studied last lesson.

"It emits toxins that will cause males to fall unconscious for five minuets and loose the last five minuets of their memory."

"And the pink one, the same with girls?" He asked.

Medulla nodded.

"Well then. I'll leave you to you lesson" Mr. Anson said, turning around and walking out.

I shuddered.

"What do you not like about Anson?" Warren asked when we sat down at our desks.

"He's just…" I couldn't think of a word. "Strange."

Warren shook his head.

The lesson was boring and we took lots of notes but it went by the bell went for lunch, the gang looked tired and bored. And I knew why.

"Ready for Chalk Talk?" I gave a mock-enthusiastic smile, sitting down.

Everyone at the table groaned.

"How can you learn about glowing?" Zach asked.

"Or melting?" Ethan added rhetorically.

We all shrugged.

"When does it start?" Maj asked.

"Four hours."

Zach shook his head. "How am I going to learn about glowing for _five_ hours?"

I sighed as I ripped the top of my salt sachet off. But before I could tip it over, I felt a burning sensation in my finger. I looked down and my salt packet was now ashes on my tray.

"What did you do that for?" I asked, irritated.

"It's unhealthy how much slat you eat."

"You can die if you have no salt."

"You can also die if you have too much."

I glared at him and then eyed his chilli's on his trays.

I thought of an animal. Before I knew what I had thought of, I was growing talons.

I spat at his chillis. A small, green fire ball exploded on his tray.

I chuckled and turned back to my human form.

The whole table was laughing. Warren's tray had melted and his top was black with soot. Even he couldn't help smirking a bit.

"What animal was _that_?" Magenta asked, impressed.

I thought for a second. When it came to me, I couldn't help smiling.

"A phoenix." I grinned.

"Phoenix' aren't real. They originate from Greek mythology" Ethan said.

I nodded.

Zach caught on. "So you can turn into mythical animals?" He gasped.

I smiled. That was_ so_ cool.

"I guess."

**A/N **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I know this one was sort of boring but next time… Im sure you'll be more, intrigued. I promise.**

**Song 1- O Fortuna (If you want to get a full effect of that elf scene, it's a lot more funny if you listen to it.)**

**My sister wanted me to say she inspired me of Clove and her power (gave me the idea because I didn't know what to do in this chapter.)**

**Review Reply~**

**Frozenangel1988- _Thats good to know! I hope you like the next chapter! xxx_**


	11. Chalk Talk

**A/N I couldn't wait to see what you guys think so I put this straight up.**

**Hope you enjoy!... xxx**

**Please review**

**Wild Ways**

**Chalk Talk**

The next lesson was boring. When the final bell went, there were loads of busses waiting to chauffer everyone to the abandoned office block. Everyone's shoulders sagged and made sure their earphones were in their ears but there were no signs of them being there so the teachers didn't catch them.

I walked onto the bus and sat near the back. I envied those with an IPod to listen to during lectures. The ride was about twenty minutes. I got off, feeling queasy as always and didn't talk to anyone until I got better. We waited in the snow outside of the office block in the long queue of students waiting to get their schedules.

I put my hands in my pockets and made sure I was next to Warren. Did I mention I hate cold weather? No one talked to me because they knew they had to wait for at least five minutes until after I got off the bus.

I hadn't noticed, but I had been inching closer to Warren for warmth to the point that I was practically inside his jacket.

He looked down at me.

"When its cold, why do I suddenly become more popular?" He smirked.

I almost laughed at the mention of him being 'popular'. He's not exactly a people person. To people he doesn't know.

"That's what you get for being a walking radiator." I replied.

He rolled his eyes but I could feel him heating up a bit more for my comfort.

When we got inside, we went to a computer with a printer. Mr. Anson was behind this one, but there were more with other teachers for a faster process.

He printed off everyone's schedules from the computer and handed them to all of us. Each of them was different. It said a time and a room. Magenta and I were in two, ten minute lectures together, but other than that none of us had one together.

I had to leave before anyone else because one of my lectures was the earliest. I left them all and went to the fifth floor. There were four people in the room and a super at the front in her costume.

"Hello. I'm Terrestrial Transfer. I can shape shift into things to do with earth." The women in the leotard said.

Wow, if I become a super, I'm gong to spend a _lot_ more time picking a name then she did.

I nodded and took a seat.

"I'm Miya."

"Yes. And you shape shift into animals."

I nodded.

"Okay. Let's get started then. People who give lectures always leave questions until the end. I think we should start and finish with them. So does anyone have a question they would like to ask me?"

No one put their hands up at first. But someone's hand scaled up slowly.

"Yes, Jason right?"

He nodded.

"Remind me what your power was, Jason. What do you shift into?" She asked.

"Furniture."

"Oh yes. And what was your question?"

"Do you have a career as just a super, just a normal person's job, or both?"

I internally smacked my forehead as 'Terrestrial Transfer's' face lit up.

"Well…"

Here we go.

* * *

After four more lectures in the space of an hour, my schedule said I had a break with a biscuit for ten minuets on the ground floor. I sighed with relief.

I went down one of the many elevators with Magenta because we had just shared one of our two lectures.

"I can't believe we just learnt about 'Shape Shifting Precautions and Safety'. What is _dangerous_ about shape shifting?" Magenta exclaimed as the elevator reached the bottom floor with a ding and we walked out.

I shook my head. I couldn't believe we had just had a _half hour_ lecture on that either.

We walked into a sort-of lounge type place. The walls were painted a joyful yellow and there were red couches in a large circle in the room. They were all pointing towards a large coffee table with a massive bowl of biscuits and drinks.

There were about ten people there, including Will and Warren. Magenta and I grabbed a biscuit and a drink and went to sit with them.

"Having fun?" I asked with mock enthusiasm.

They groaned.

"Forty minuets on 'How to Control Your Temper When You Have Super-Strength'." Will quoted.

"I had a similar one for the whole hour." Warren said.

"That's understandable. A room of pyro's and you want to ease away slowly and try not to make eye contact." I teased.

Warren gave me a fake smile and then glared at me. I laughed.

"What about you?" Will asked

"Twenty minuets on 'How To Avoid Fleas and What To Do If You Have Them'." Magenta said.

Everyone looked at her and burst out laughing.

"_That_ is the worst." I stated.

"What have you had?" Warren asked.

"I had one about what kind of poisons some animals give out and there effects. Now I know what to do if I need to temporarily blind someone." I said. "Or permanently." I added mischievously.

"I can see that being useful." Will said.

"It was actually quite fun. It was just me because the other student isn't here. But most of the animals I learnt about and their poisons where bugs, spiders or snakes. So don't get on the wrong side of me 'cos I could paralyse you. Well, I can do that without my power but you know what I mean." I teased.

They all rolled their eyes.

"If you could drown in arrogance, you would have died in the womb." Warren said.

I laughed.

"I've got to go to my next lecture. See you on the other side." Magenta said dryly, getting up.

"Bye, Maj." Will said. "When do you guys have to go?"

I looked at my sheet.

"Five minuets." I said.

"Me too." Warren said.

"Three." Will sighed.

I was about to sigh too when some hands clasped over my eyes and I couldn't see anything. My instincts took over and I grabbed the hand and his forearm and bent over really quickly. The person flew over my head and onto the floor. I landed standing up with my legs spread apart and the attackers legs in between them.

I looked down and realised who it was. I flopped back on the couch.

"Ethan! Dont scare me like that." I sighed.

Warren and Will burst out laughing.

"Don't scare _you_ like that." A shocked Ethan said on the floor. "Ouch!"

"Wuss." I muttered.

Will held out a hand for Ethan and hauled him to his feet effortlessly- still laughing.

"It's not funny." Ethan said.

Warren and Will found his response more funny.

"I'm sorry Ethan." I said.

"It's okay. I've had worse. _Much_ worse."

I looked at my watch.

"Will, don't you have to go."

He looked at me and then at the clock on the wall behind me. His smile vanished and he sprung up and sprinted off without a word.

"We should probably go too." I said to Warren.

He shrugged and got up with me.

"Bye, Ethan. And I'm really sorry about that." I apologised.

He shook his head. "Don't worry. See you later."

I nodded and walked off to the elevator with Warren.

"Which floor are you going to?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"Which ever one you're going." He replied.

I looked at him and raised an eye brow. When he didn't say anything else, just smirked, I realised he didn't have his schedule.

"Where's you sheet?" I asked.

"Lost it."

I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly.

"What are you going to do then?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'll just go to your ones."

I sighed and looked at my sheet. I pushed the button for the twenty seventh floor.

"You got the wrong one." Warren said.

"No I didn't."

"Twenty seven's the top floor." He said.

"And that's what's on my sheet."

His brows furrowed and he took the sheet from my hands.

"Okay…"

I pushed on the 'close door' button and the elevator went up. They opened about forty seconds later and I felt a bit woozy.

"Are you actually sick from an elevator, Parker?" He smirked.

"I'm not sick." I lied.

He shook his head and walked out, I followed him.

"Are you sure this is it?" He asked.

I nodded in confusion. We both looked around at the room. This was more 'abandoned' than any of the other parts of the building. It had a few broken desks and filing cabinets. It was dark and damp. The air was moist and thick. Everything was covered with layers of dust and I didn't even want to look up and see how many cobwebs there were.

I spotted a door at the other end. I pointed at it and Warren nodded. I walked over and opened the heavy, metal door. I was hit with a gust of wind, it shocked me but I stepped onto the roof anyway, Warren followed.

I spotted someone at the other end of the snowy roof. I started to walk towards it.

She heard us coming and looked up.

"Wait! Don't shut the-." She stopped as the door made a clanging noise and shut behind us. "-Door." She finished.

I turned back and tried to open it. It was locked. I wasn't worried though; we had Warren who could burn through it.

I turned back to the girl.

"Great. Now were all trapped up here." She shouted over the wind, throwing up her hands.

"How long have you been up here?" I asked.

"Long enough to not be able to feel my feet."

I walked closer. She had blonde hair and was stick-thin. I recognised her as Ashley, a bitchy senior who had really wealthy and well known supers as parents. A bit like Wills' but more wealthy. Wills parents didn't except money for their super-job from civilians.

"Why did you come up?" I asked.

"I felt ill and wanted some air." She said. "Now I feel worse and am fucking freezing!" She yelled.

"Chill. I was just asking." I said, holding up my hands.

"I think I've '_chilled'_ enough, thank you!"

"Hey. It's fine. I can get us out." Warren said, lighting up in demonstration.

The girl seemed to sigh in relief. We all walked back towards the door when I heard a noise.

"Do you hear that?" I asked, stopping.

"I don't fucking care. Lets go!" Ashley snapped.

"I hear it too." Warren said.

Ashley was about to say something but stopped when the noise got louder.

I turned into a bird, not caring what type, and flew above a low snow cloud to see what it was.

The cloud was dense and it seemed to go higher so I stayed where I was. I saw a black blob in the wet, cold cloud. I had to squint because it was far away, but there was defiantly something.

The noise was easier to hear as a bird and I recognised the swooping sound as a helicopter.

I dived back through the cloud and towards the roof.

I landed while turning into my human form.

"Anything?" Warren asked.

"A helicopter." I shrugged.

They sighed and went back to the door.

Warren through a fire ball at it. It crashed into it and made a mark. The ends melted a bit but it didn't even go right through. He tried again and the same thing happened.

"Well, this is going to take a while." Ashley moaned.

"Will melting it by your body heat be faster?" I asked.

Warren shook his head and sent a series of fire bolts at the door. They made dents but obviously weren't as hot as his single ones.

"Is it just me or is it getting really lou-" I stopped when the wind from a helicopter came from above.

I furrowed my brows. We couldn't see it but if we could feel its wind and it was loud, it was too low.

All of a sudden, a rope fell from the sky.

I stared at it. My heart drummed in my chest and my breathing rate rose.

Moving in front of Ashley for protection, Warren moved to stand in front of us both.

I went to the side of our little line of protection - thinking a head start would be better than waiting to see what was to come - and turned into an eagle, not quite trusting my phoenix form yet.

"Parker. Don't go anywhere. Parker!" Warren said as I started flapping.

I ran up and flew next to the rope so I could see it. When I saw the first man in black sliding down it, I wacked him as hard as I could with my huge wing (which was _hard)_. He yelped and slipped a bit, but caught himself again.

I quickly assessed that with the black ski-masks and all, they weren't coming to wash windows. They wanted something. And they had planned it through to get it. I thought of Ashley, considering she was worth quite a lot as a result of her parents' fame.

I went lower and caught up with the man before whacking him again. Another man in black clambered down the rope to catch up to his colleague. I was about to whack the first man again, but the man above hit me with his back pack or something. I lost control and fell backwards, not being able to fly again before I hit the roof with a thud.

"Parker!" Warren yelled from across the roof.

He started running over to help me but I changed back into my human form and held up a hand.

"I think they want Ashley. Stay over there." I called.

He stopped in thought, but when I got up, he thought I was okay enough and went back to Ashley.

Before I could properly get back on my feet, men showered from the rope and onto the hard, icy roof. I counted about seven. They split in half: four for Ashley and Warren, three for me. They knew what they were doing.

They strode over purposefully towards me. I kicked the first one and parried another one's blow. I took a step back and kicked at the weak bit on the side of the thigh at the third one, but from no-where someone punched me in the side. I fell to the floor and hissed through gritted teeth.

My mind slowed down while my reflexes sped up as the men came towards me. I rolled over into a spiderman-crouch and swiped the legs of one of the attackers. Usually, it would've knocked them clean off their feet, but he only stumbled back a bit - only loosing his deliberate swagger.

They were good. I haven't really ever had a proper opponent. I never had lessons - from what I can remember - and the people I have fought have all been worse than I have, which doesn't really make you improve.

I slowed everything further within my mind. If they were good at fighting, and they outnumbered me, I had something they didn't (well, at least I _thought_ they didn't).

I got to my feet and threw a punch before thinking about what to turn into. I put my body on auto pilot while my mind was thinking of other things. I dodged and kicked while I thought of what to turn into. I thought a jungle cat would be intimidating. A lion would be big and sloppy compared to others, but good for strength. A cheetah? Cheetahs were the fastest land mammals, but, leopards had faster reflexes, and were fast.

Deciding speedily, I quickly changed into a leopard. The men weren't startled, they barely flinched. I pounced at them and clawed at one of their legs. He yelped and tried to shake me off. I did come off but only to attack another one.

I bounded at him with top speed and pounded on top of him, he landed on the floor with a thud. I didn't want to severely injure anyone so I only clawed slightly deep. Deep enough for him to hiss in pain. I felt a sharp punch to my side. I growled for intimidation and turned to the third attacker.

Keeping low, I slowly walked up to him (I saw it in a documentary once when a lion stalked its prey). He stood defiant, unfazed and menacing. I jumped, but before I could get anywhere, a forth man came and kicked me while I was in the air so forcefully, I flipped over and landed a few metres away. Loosing my focus on my form, I unintentionally transformed back to a human.

Before I could take another breath, someone grabbed me from behind. They grabbed my hands. I rolled over, frantically trying to kick at them. I did, but not before he had put something on my wrist. I screamed in pain as sharp needles sunk through my skins, deep into my wrists.

"Parker!" Warren yelled from wherever he was at the scream.

I twisted - trying very hard to ignore my wrist - and tripped the man who had hurt my wrist with my legs, following with a punch to knock him unconscious with my good arm.

Getting up painfully I ran to where I thought the direction of Warren was; I knew I couldn't go on for much longer like this. They were good, and outnumbered us. Flight was a more realistic choice than fight.

Hearing the men run after me, I thought of that cheetah from earlier. I tried changing, but instead, I got excruciating pain from within my blood in my right wrist. I screamed and stumbled.

The men were catching up, I caught my balance and ran, it was hard on the snow and in those shoes but I managed to find Warren.

Ashley was stood behind him. Her power was telekinesis. Problem was; there were no objects to chuck at people and throwing actual _people_ was exhausting. She had been doing it anyway but looked like she was about to fall asleep, even though she didn't have a scratch.

Warren, on the other hand was in a similar condition to me; sweaty and bloody.

I stumbled up next to him.

"I-I can't use m-my powers." I mumbled to him, exhausted.

Warren threw a series of fire balls at the attackers who were now regrouping and joining each other. There were only five left.

"How come?" He grunted, busy with throwing fire.

I held out my wrist drowsily. He got distracted at the sight of my dripping arm.

He glanced at it then made a double take. "Parker! What hap-." He would've said more but an attacker kicked him.

I spun and launched a roundhouse at his neck. He fell to the floor and I stomped on his stomach- only hard enough to break a rib or two.

Ashley shrieked as one punched her. I didn't even see that attacker get past. I went over, dodged a blow and grabbed the attackers ears. I bought them down and my knee up with us much force as I could muster. They collided and his nose spurt out blood. He fell to the floor, unconscious. Four to go.

I turned to Ashley who was cupping her cheek.

"Find-."

"Look out!" She shrieked.

I spun and made a backwards kick at the attacker.

"Find an-" I dodged a blow and came up with a punch to the jaw and the stomach. "-Exit." I swooped out his legs from underneath. He fell. I knew he wasn't done with yet but I went over to help Warren anyways who had the rest of them.

Ashley ran away, trying to find an exit.

"We need to get away." I grunted to Warren as I punched an attackers nose and kicked his kneecap.

Warren was silent as he thought and fought.

"I have an idea. But-" He kicked an attacker in the groin. "- you're going to have to cover me-" He punched another one. "- and there are too many." He finished with a fireball at someone's chest.

"I'll be fine. We need to get off the-" I grunted as someone kicked me where I'd been kicked before. "roof" I huffed out.

Warren punched the one who'd kicked me and lit his mask on fire. He looked at me and I pretended to look stronger than I was.

"We're not going to last if we stay." I received another punch to the jaw as I was ducking a different blow.

I knew Warren was torn. I would get hurt more both ways; if he stayed or left.

"Go!" I made his decision for him.

He ran off and around the corner.

Taking a step back, the four closed in on me. I took a deep breath. I was going to have to get out of this corner and on the other side of the roof for when Warren was done, but how to get past? There were too many.

I ran at one to kick his kneecap andtook a step back to roundhouse at someone's face. It made contact, but someone caught it and did a sort-of chop on my leg. I yelped and hopped back.

I needed to get _forward!_ Idiot!

Making a split second decision, I kicked the same kneecap on the same person, punched him in the stomach and catching his ears to knee him. I kicked him to the floor - leaving a gap. I sprinted, the adrenaline ignoring my leg and numbing my injuries and made a beeline closer to the corner where Warren had gone round. I didn't want to end up too close though so they didn't bother him or Ashley.

I wasn't fast enough. I was where I wanted to be but someone had caught up with me, they kicked me and I stumbled to the floor. He came at me and punched my stomach. I kicked him back and managed to push him away with my foot while I got up.

Their numbers where growing; the unconscious were waking up again.

"Warren!" I shouted.

Five of them were closing in on me. I couldn't defeat five, only stall. And I couldn't do that for long either.

I was dizzy and they were merging into each other. I made an exhausted punch at one. He blocked it and ducked to punch me in the stomach, then back up at the neck.

I couldn't breath.

Another kicked my side, the same side they all kick. I stumbled, determined not to fall. If I fell; game over.

"Parker!" I heard faintly in the back of my mind.

Another kicked my thigh. As I stumble back again. I saw some movement from behind. I turned around to the movement to see one that was unconscious a second ago, come at me with something shiny. Hard. I didn't have time to breath before he knocked me around the head with it.

I fell and my eyes shut.

* * *

_Warren POV._

_"Parker!" I shouted, running towards her once I was done._

_I was such an idiot for leaving her with all of them._

_She made a poor punch at the closest. He blocked it and made a lightning fast punch at her stomach and neck._

_Someone came at her with a kick, she stumbled back and then another one._

_I didn't even notice the guy come up behind her. When she turned around, a guy holding what looked like a metal lid of a trashcan came at her._

_I breathed in as he forcefully whacked her around the face. She fell to the floor, unconscious. _

_A hot wave of new-found fury washed over me. _

_I charged in and lit up, firing the fastest amount of fireballs I had ever done. I hit each attacker square in the chest._

_Someone ran towards Parker, trying to get to her before me._

_I came in and kicked his head, it whipped back and he fell to the floor. Grabbing Parker's waist, I slung her over my shoulder. My wounds were burning and something told me her's were much worse._

_Someone came at me, trying to punch me, I blocked it and grabbed his wrist, I turned it in a lock and accidently took off a glove. __It was only for a second, but long enough. I saw a circular emblem tattooed onto his wrist, it had funny designs in the centre._

_A quick 360 revealed that all the attackers were stumbling or on the floor. I ran around the corner and through the little archway in the wall i'd made by burning through it._

_"NOW Ashley!" I shouted. _

_As the last syllable rolled off my __tongue, all the filing cabinets, desks and chairs flew in the way of the whole, blocking the exit for the attackers._

_"Ashley. We got to leave."_

_I didn't trust the elevator and bounded down the stairs three at a time, Ashley close behind._

**A/N Ooh. Whats going to happen next? Review for a faster update.**

**And I know bits may be hard to understand, I got a bit carried away. Pleas tell me if something doesn't make sense. xxxx**


	12. Blue Watermelons

**A/N Hey. Two things I can think of, there are probably others I will want to add to this AN later but, I think it was two chapters ago, maybe three, Warren was talking about Miya's immune system. I may be wrong (im not a bioligist) that it's not phagocytes that carry immunity or memory, but lymphocytes. Anyway, doesn't matter. **

**Second thing is that my sister was asking if a character could be named after her. The I thought that you guys might want to name a charater. So send me in your favourite name, it can be crazy or normal (I like both). If I like it, I'll use it.**

**So, yeah. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy... 3 **

**Wild Ways**

**Blue Watermelons**

Miya POV

I can't explain how it feels like to come conscious. All of you senses start to slowly come back. First they come back blurry. And they slowly become vivid. Last of all, your sight.

All I could see was a faint red, but as I became more conscious, it got lighter, and soon enough it hurt to have my eyes shut. I moved out the way of the light but a searing pain coursed through me.

I winced and slowly opened my eyes.

The room was light and painted white. Everything blurred into eachother.

I blinked. A buzzing noise sounded by my head and soon a nurse came in.

"Your awake." She said sweetly.

I furrowed my brows in painful confusion. How did I get here?

"H-"I was surprised at how dry my throat was.

"Here. Have this."

The nurse handed me some water and lifted my head gently so I could drink it. I felt a bit dizzy once I'd finished my whole glass.

Suddenly, I clicked.

"Warren! Where's Warren and Ashley?" I asked, about to sit up but thinking better of it.

I hissed in pain when I spoke, my stomach screamed.

"Don't worry. They're fine. In fact, Ms. Waterhouse is more than fine."

I guessed 'Ms. Waterhouse' was Ashley.

"Warren?" I asked quietly, fearing my stomach.

"He's okay. A bit battered but nothing very bad."

I looked around as everything became more vivid. It was an ugly room with two windows, fake flowers, a desk with a computer and a bunch of medical stuff above and beside me.

"Where am I?"

"Maxville Super Hospital." She said.

I nodded and then winced.

"Someone whacked you pretty hard."

I groaned in the memory.

"How long?" I asked. "How long has it been?"

The nurse sighed. I winced, knowing it was going to be bad.

"Three days."

"Three _days_!" I said, sitting up unintentionally and instantly regretting it; my head swam and my ribs burnt.

I thought I'd been out for a few hours. _Days!_

"You would've woken up two days ago if it had just been your head. But we think that that bracelet helped keep you out longer."

I forgot about that. I tried to lift up my hand to see, but I couldn't. I looked down and it was strapped to my other shoulder- still with the bracelet on.

"We strapped it above your heart so it wouldn't bleed as much and couldn't take it off for three reasons. First, we had to wait until you were awake. Second, we're not sure quite how to. And last of all, were not _very _sure what it is." She said, sensing my disappointment.

I was surprised at how honest she was being, at hospitals I've been to; they're not allowed to lie to you. They just don't tell you the whole truth so you feel better.

"We don't agree with that system. And we're from the Super Embassy so we can change things." She said.

Could she read minds?

"Yes."

"Ah." I replied.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Groggy, dizzy." I said.

"I know that." She tapped her forehead to show me she could tell. "I mean emotionally about it?"

"Can't you read that as well?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes. But I don't. I don't think it's ethically or morally right. Emotions should only be read by the person who feels them."

I sighed then flinched. Note to self: Don't breath deeply with a busted stomach.

"In one word: confused." I said, summing it up.

"We are too." She replied.

She waited in silence as I thought of nothing. I was too tired and I really didn't want to think of what had happened.

"What do you know about the bracelet?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I'll get to that, but I need to go through your injuries with you." She took a stall and sat down by my bed.

I nodded.

"Okay. I'll start with the minors and get higher." She said. "First of all, you have multiple scratches and cuts spread over your body in various ranges of depth and size. A crushed foot we suspect happened about a week ago and you didn't tell anyone about." I rolled my eyes. "It got worse from the kicks you made and the running around, and you broke a few toes. And your lip is swollen from biting on it."

I almost laughed at that. I always bite my lip, so many people have told me to stop and that one day, I would bite on it too hard.

"Your cheek bone, neck and nose are bruised. Your thighs are badly bruised from multiple kicks. Your left leg is slightly fractured." I thought of the man who caught my leg. "You won't want to put much pressure on it for about a week after you get out of hosptial. You-"

"But I have a bad foot on my right. How am I going to walk on both?" I asked.

"Hmm. I'm guessing you don't want a wheelchair."

I didn't even have to answer, I just raised an eyebrow.

"Well you could have crutches. Your left leg is worse than your right foot. So you would sort of have to half -hop." She said, in thought. "Anyway, we'll decide that when we get there. You have a bruised stomach and three broken ribs. And then the not on the back of your head and the cuff." She sighed. "So you've basically been through hell I can imagine."

I huffed.

"Anyway, your question about the bracelet- cuff-thing. Well, do you know of those power neutralising hand-cuffs we use for super villains?" I nodded. "Well we think this is a homemade one. It is spiked with long needles on the inside; once it's in the skin it releases the power neutralising chemical into your blood. With the real handcuffs, there are no spikes and it's only neutralised on skin contact. The one on your wrist only works in the blood where it will cause physical pain if you try your power." I nodded, remembering doing that very thing.

"We're not sure quite how to get it off, and we don't know if there are any after effects of this chemical because we have only seen a similar version."

I nodded and propped my elbows on the bed to try and sit myself up. The nurse stopped me and grabbed a remote. She pressed a button and the back of the chair rose and sat me up with it. She placed the remote on my lap.

"So. What happened in the last three days?" I asked. It's weird not being aware of three days of your life.

"Not much. Your friends had to be asked to leave. But they came back after school each day. We couldn't say much about your progress because you were unconscious, but they would stay for as long as they could anyway." She gestured to my bedside table.

I turned my head to see a stack of cards. I smiled.

"We didn't tell them about your injuries because they're not family and you might not have wanted them to know."

"Why would I not want them to know?"

"Some people either like to tell their friends themselves or sometimes not at all." She shrugged.

"What about Warren?" I asked.

"He had a broken arm, a few bruises and bits of shrapnel in his leg." The nurse replied.

"How deep was it in his leg?"

"Pretty deep." She said. "He's fond of you. He didn't want to leave your side, we had to pretty-much drag him so we could take a look at his own injuries."

I smirked.

The nurse jolted when she felt her pocket vibrate.

"I'm needed somewhere else. If you need anything, press that button." She pointed to a button by my head. "There will be some people in here in a while to try and get that bracelet off. We have to leave you awake for a few hours first though. So _don't_ fall asleep. I'll be checking on you every half hour. Your friends should be out of school in an hour anyway. But for the meantime, TV." She pointed to the TV. "Books, magazines." She gestured to my bedside table. "See you in a half hour. Drink lots of water. And don't get up without pressing the button first." She warned.

She walked out of the door and shut it behind her.

I sighed deeply. I took in everything. My body ached and burned. But I felt like I hadn't moved in a centaury, like what sleeping beauty must've felt like when she woke up.

I turned over and grabbed the stack of cards. I opened the first one.

**_Miya._**

**_It was so scary seeing you like that at Chalk Talk._**

**_I really miss you and hope you wake up soon._**

**_We've visited you everyday._**

**_Lots of love, Layla_**

I smiled and it grew larger as I read through all of them. There were ones from Magenta, Will, Zach, Ethan, Clove, a large one signed by all the girls in my dorm, a bunch of sophomores – some of whom I hadn't heard of and one from Principle Powers and Mr. Medulla.

I opened the last one, expecting it to be Warren.

**_Hi._**

**_I was told to say thank you._**

**_So thank you._**

**_-Ashley x_**

I couldn't blame Warren for not giving me one though, what would you write?

The nurse came in when I was putting the letters neatly back on the table.

"Hi. Doing all right?" She asked, sitting on an armchair by the door.

"Yeah- actually, no. I'm really hungry. Like, _starving_."

The nurse chuckled. "I'm not surprised you didn't even have dinner three days ago. I'll be right back." She said, leaving again.

She came back in a few minuets later with a tray of food. It was on a little lap-table so I could eat it sitting down.

"I'll leave you to eat. Anything else?"

"Yeah. If I can't get up. How am I meant to go to the bathroom?" I asked.

"You can get up, just with help. And for now, you'll have to use the wheelchair."

I groaned. She smiled and left.

"Actually." She came back in after a few seconds. "Thinking about it, you can't use crutches with a busted wrist for when you get out of hospital anyway."

My eyes flew open. Un-uh. It was bad enough not being able to _walk_. Having to use a _chair_ to get around in, I think that would put me in more pain than I was already in.

"I'm sorry." She said and left again.

I groaned in frustration but regretted it. My ribs and stomach seemed to set on fire.

I sat there, trying to think about nothing because I would only think about Chalk Talk.

I slowly made my way through the food that was on my lap. It's _extremely_ hard to eat when your stomach is wrapped so tight in bandages it feels like a corset.

I grabbed a pen that was on my bedside table and the back of Ashley's card, thinking I won't be able to remember all those injuries.

I was about to pass the pen to my right hand so I could write, but it was strapped. I grunted in frustration. Now I can't even _write!_ But I stood defiant and wrote with my left.

One good thing about writing in capitals; they're easy to understand. However, this list wasn't. It was messier than my attempt at lower-case writing.

I put the note back on my table and bit my lip. Then I stopped biting it because even _that_ hurt.

I could imagine the duration of my healing being agony- and not from my wounds.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I said confusedly.

The door opened slowly. Layla, Magenta, Zach, Ethan and Will entered.

"Miya! Your awake!" Layla squealed, running up to me.

"I woke about two hours ago." I filled her in.

"Aww. Miya. You look terrible." Magenta said.

"Thats reassuring."

"What happened?" Will asked. "I mean, we know what _happened_. But what happened to you."

"My injuries?" I asked.

They all nodded.

"I have a few busted ribs, bunch of bruises and then a not on my head and my wrist." I recited half of my list.

"Everyone's been so worried. You were meant to wake up two days ago." Layla said.

"Who's 'everyone'" I asked.

They all shared looks at each other.

"Well, everyone saw…" Will trailed off.

"Saw what?"

"You."

"How? What happened after I- wait, how _did_ I get knocked out?"

"Warren said someone whacked you when you weren't looking with a piece of metal."

"Where's Warren?" I asked.

"He had detention. He'll be here in a second."

I rolled my eyes.

"He doesn't know you're awake yet."

"What happened after?" I asked curiously. "How did I get here? We were loosing." I remembered.

"Warren will explain. We don't know the whole story, he wanted to wait until you were awake."

"Oh."

"Do you know what was on your wrist?" Zach asked.

"Oh, you mean what's_ still_ on my wrist?" I asked.

They all looked over at my strapped arm. I pulled down the fabric strap so they could see.

They all gasped when they saw it. I almost did too; I hadn't properly seen it yet. It was bruised around the edges of the band and my whole arm was covered in bright blue veins. I almost shrieked.

"Oh my gosh, what is that?"

"They said it was like a homemade power-neutralising cuff thing." I said.

"How are they going to get it off? That latch is pretty tough." Ethan asked.

That made me more worried.

"I don't know. Some people are coming in later. They said it was hard because there are needles inside of it." I quoted.

"Oh. I-" Ethan was interrupted by the door handle moving.

Warren came in and scanned the room quickly. He did a double take on me when he saw I was awake.

"Your awake." He said, grinning a bit.

I looked him up and down. His arm was in a cast and I could tell there was a tightly-wrapped bandage around his thigh under his jeans. He had a few bruises in the areas that were visible.

"I'm fine." He said, noticing me analysing him. "How are you?" He asked.

I shrugged and smiled a bit. "You?"

He ignored the question and walked over to the circle that had gathered around my bed.

"What have you got?" He asked, checking my body up and down, like I did his. Although, you couldn't see much because I was under a blanket.

"I asked you first."

"You didn't actually."

I glared at him.

He sighed with an eye roll and smirked a bit. "Just a few bruises."

I raised an eyebrow to tell him I knew there was more. But I ignored it and handed him the list; I couldn't be bothered with remembering them all again.

"Swollen lip?" He raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

I blushed. "I bite my lip, okay."

"We know that. And we've told you to stop."

"So you just bit your lip really hard and its now injured?" Will asked, smirking.

My blush deepened. I didn't reply and looked down. They all burst out laughing; each one of them had told me to stop that habit.

"I can't help it." I tried but they just laughed louder.

Warren continued down the list when the laughing died down.

"What happened?" I asked when he had finished.

Ethan took the list out of his hands so he and Zach could read it.

"When?"

"When do you think?"

"Oh." He said. "Well, I had made a little whole in the wall before you passed out. I grabbed you when you were unconscious and ran through it. Ashley blocked it with the desks in that room. We ran down the stairs and stopped in a different room. Then we found Will and Layla." He finished.

"Keep going." I told him, wanting to know more.

"Well these three went to get teachers and they came up with Medulla and two others. We all went down to the lobby and into an ambulance. Will carried you in and here we are."

"How did 'everyone see me' then?" I quoted from earlier.

Warren looked at the others. "Well, everyone was having a break when we went through the lobby. It was quite hard to get through unnoticed…" He trailed off.

I smacked my forehead with my good hand and winced when it gave me a searing headache.

"What has everyone been saying?" I asked.

"Well, Ashley's been telling everyone _her_ version of it. Which is kind of unbelievable. She's saying how good she was at fighting and you were helping her by her side." Zach stopped himself.

"I what?" I asked, slightly angry.

"No one believes it though. Everyone's seen you fight and no one has seen her."

"What's happening with the whole kidnapping?" I asked.

"They think it was just a one-off and that they just wanted her for ransom. Her parents say they have nothing anyone would want other than money. So she's being watched just to make sure she's safe, but no one thinks they are going to try again."

"Ah." I said. "What's her condition?"

"Two bruises."

I felt my body up and down since I couldn't see it under the sheet. It hurt... a lot.

I sighed.

"Do you know when you can get out of hospital?" Layla asked.

"No. I didn't ask."

"Wh-." Warren was interrupted with the door opening.

A bunch of doctors walked in.

"Are you ready?"

"For what?" I asked.

"We're going to try take that bracelet off."

"Oh." Nerve coursed through me as I started to worry. It must have been obvious how I felt.

"Can we stay with her?" Warren asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Could they?"

"No. Sorry. It would be too crowded."

"Warren could just go." Layla offered.

"Yeah. Could someone just come?" I asked nervously.

"One." The doctor said. "Okay, do you want to bring it in?" He asked one of the doctors.

I furrowed my brows as one of the doctors left. He came back a few seconds later with a gurney.

"Un-uh. No. I can walk."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can." I said. "Why do we have to move anyway? Couldn't you do it here? I like this room." I said, gesturing to the unattractive room.

"Our equipment is in surgery."

"Couldn't you bring it here?"

He shook his head.

I sat up properly and gently swung my legs off the bed. My head went fuzzy and I winced at my ribs.

Warren and the closest doctor pushed me back gently, not wanting me to stand.

"I'm fine." I insisted.

"You wouldn't be here if you were 'fine'." A doctor said.

I sat back in surrender and huffed. I didn't want someone to chauffer me around.

The doctors pulled the gurney up beside the bed.

"What about the wheelchair? I'd prefer that to that thing."

The doctor shook his head as someone got the remote and my bed stretched as my back lowered with it.

I pouted when I was flat on my back.

"Three, two, one." The main doctor said.

The other doctors that gathered around my bed lifted a plastic sheet I had no-idea I was on.

"Whoa. Wait. Wait, wait, wait." I tried as I was lifted into the air.

I could hear Warren snicker quietly. I gripped onto the ends of the plastic until I was put onto the gurney.

I hated this.

I was suddenly very aware that I was only in my hospital gown as I was pulled down the hallways with a bunch of doctors pushing me and Warren behind them.

I propped myself on my elbows, trying to inspect my legs for bruises because I hadn't see them yet. They looked like I was half Dalmatian. Especially my foot and where my leg was fractured.

One of the doctors pushed my shoulder down so I had to lie down. I huffed in annoyance as they pulled me down different corridors. I felt really disorientated lying down.

Eventually I was pulled into a room and up against another bed. They lifted me up again and onto it.

The bed was cold and uncomfortable.

"Okay. While you were unconscious, we took some x-rays and this is your wrist." He pinned up a photo on a board with lights.

My wrist suddenly hurt more as I looked at the picture. There were five large needles pierced deep into my right arm and loads of little ones everywhere. Warren winced.

"We can't take off the bracelet the way it was put on because it would make it worse. We're going to try and cut the bracelet around where the big needles are, and then hopefully pull it straight out."

My eyes flung open.

"And I'm going to be awake?" I asked worriedly. Forgetting I couldn't be drugged unconscious anyway.

"That's the thing. The bracelet helped put you under with the not on your head. We're worried that if you are unconscious and we try taking it off, it will only be worse and more painful for when you wake up."

"You said you would cut around the big needles. What about the little ones? You would be moving them around and splitting them in half." Warren asked.

I dared not even touch my wrist, I was freaking out about having a conversation to take it off and do more than just touch it.

"Yes. We'll have to sort that out later. But we need to get this out quickly because it's still feeding you chemicals."

"I'm going to be drugged though right?" I asked, completely freaking out.

"Of course. We are going to give you a lot so it can over go the pain and last for a long time because were not sure how long this will take."

I nodded.

A doctor walked over with a large syringe. I looked away as they pulled out my good arm and jabbed the needle it. I cringed as I felt how big it was and the drugs ran through my arm.

While he took out the needle I saw another doctor unstrap my wrist and pull away the fabric.

"Whoa." I heard Warren say at my arm.

I turned back toward him because the needle was gone and I didn't want to see my other arm.

I felt my head go light and slowly, my body did too. I felt like I was floating, or hovering above the bed.

The world seemed to bubble in my head and the room went brighter. The brightness seemed to soak through my skin. I felt like there was nothing wrong with the world.

Warren was looking at something over my head with wide eyes.

I turned my head to see what he was looking at. An arm was strapped to the bed. Red started to decorate over the blue. It was a strange arm. Someone started poking at it with a metal stick.

"Someone's tickling me!" I said. I tried to move from the tickling and saw the funny arm move. My eyes widened as I linked two and two.

"That's my arm!" I said with a grin.

I turned to Warren and shook him with my good arm to get his attention.

He looked down at me. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down. He was startled. I giggled from his expression. I made a gesture to come closer.

When he didn't, just raised a brow, I pulled him down further. I had a really big secret to tell him.

"Warren. That's my arm." I whispered in his ear and giggled. I let go of his shirt and he slowly pulled away.

"My arm is blue!" I said a bit louder. "And red. Its red too. If watermelons were blue and red instead of green and red, my arm would be like a watermelon." I burst out with giggles, imagining my arm as a watermelon.

I noticed no one was joining in with my laugh. But it was so funny. I turned around to the doctors. They all wore blue masks and had stern faces.

I mimicked their expressions, trying to see what it felt like. It didn't feel too good. Why would you want to feel like that? I burst out with giggles. It was so odd to wear a face like that.

"Why are you so grumpy?" I asked them.

They ignored me. I turned back to Warren who was looking at my watermelon arm with worried eyes.

"Why are they so grumpy?"

He didn't reply, just looked at my blue arm.

"Oh. I get it. You're jealous you don't have a watermelon arm." I slurred.

Warren looked down at me and raised an eyebrow.

"I think Warren wants to be a Smurf when he's older." I giggled. "Warren. Smurfs aren't real. I'm sorry."

I felt bad breaking the news to him, but he had to hear it.

"This is from the drugs, right?" Warren asked.

I turned over to the doctors. They nodded, but didn't stop looking at my arm.

I rolled over and shuffled closer to it. I stared at it with my face an inch away from it. I looked up at the doctors.

"I know. It's fascinating." I said. "Everyone wants watermelon arms." I yelled.

Then I moved away, laughing as I imagined _everyone_ with watermelon arms.

I turned back to Warren. He was more interesting.

"Warren. Why did you kiss me?" I gurgled.

Warren looked stunned and turned to look at me.

I turned to the doctors.

"Did you know Warren kissed me once?"

I turned back to Warren.

"Did you like it? I liked it. It was warm. Your so warm Warren." I said, trying to shuffle closer to him to get warmer. "Your like a giant teddy bear with radiator-clothes."

I giggled and rolled over. Warren as a teddy bear…

"This is boring. Can we go do something fun? Like swimming. Maybe Layla could make us a car made of plants and we could drive to a big puddle, because there are no pools around here. Where is Layla?" I asked, lifting my head up and trying to look around, Warren pushed me back down.

"Layla! Laaylaa! Laaaaylaaaa?" I sung loudly.

I turned back over to the doctors.

"How come no one says anything? It's so quite. So much… nothing. I guess I'm going to have to speak for all of us." I said tiredly.

"I'm so tired. I think I'll make up for your quiet in the morning." I said, rolling back over to Warren's side.

I curled up in a ball and shut my eyes.

"Don't let her fall asleep." One of the doctors said.

Warren shook me gently. I opened my eyes. His expression was funny. I mimicked it like I did earlier. This one didn't feel too good either.

"Warren, I'm tired. Can you wake me up when I'm asleep later?" I said, shutting my eyes again.

He shook me again.

I rolled over so he couldn't wake me up. But it was too light over there. It burnt my eyes. I opened them and looked at the doctors.

"Can you turn off the lights? Do you know your killing polar bears?"

I looked at them prodding my wrist, it looked like they were painting my blue arm red. The blue was slowly all turning red.

"No. I don't want it completely red. Just in polka dots. I want some blue." I told them.

But they kept prodding at my bracelet. It looked fun. I shuffled up so my face was next to it. I pulled my other arm around and started touching it, copying the doctors.

"No, no. Peace! Hold her other arm down." The doctor yelled frantically.

"Don't get so _angry_. It doesn't suit you." I told the doctor as Warren grabbed my arm and pinned it down.

I frowned. I didn't like having no arms. I shook, trying to get my arms free. My blue arm didn't move but my other did a bit.

"Parker, stop moving." Warren said, trying to get a better grip on my arm.

I froze where I was, not moving a muscle.

"Breathe!" Warren said when I was starting to go red from holding my breath for so long.

I took a deep breath. "That feels better. Good ol' oxygen."

I tilted my head to see what was happening with my arm.

"Wait, wait, my bed is turning red and its going into my hair. Paint is bad for my hair, unless you're a hairdresser. Am I at the hairdresser?" I asked, looking around.

It didn't look like a hairdresser.

"Is this a dungeon. I'm in a dungeon. HELP! HEEELLP!"

A hand clasped over my mouth. Oh my gosh; I was being trapped. I started panicking. But I stopped. Panic was a weird feeling, uncomfortable.

The hand came off. I flopped back and turned around.

"Was I just put in a dungeon?" I asked Warren. "Or forced to the hairdressers?"

"She's loosing too much blood. We're going to have get the rest of the metal out later, we have to finish quickly."

"Finnish? Can you speak Finnish?" I turned around to the doctor.

"I can." I said proudly. "Hei, minulla on sininen vesimeloni kuin varsi."

I burst out laughing and rolled over. Warrens eyes were wide.

"So, Parker. Where did you learn Finnish?" He asked casually, changing his expression.

"In Finland." I said.

What an odd question.

"Who taught you?" He asked.

"I don't know. A teacher?" That's what teachers do, right?

"Why were you in Finland?"

"Because I lived there for a bit. It was beautiful like a flip-flop. But we had to move."

"Why?"

I thought for a second. "I don't know."

"How did your parents know Finnish?" He asked.

"Why are you asking so many questions? You're not a detective."

"I know. I want to go on holiday and thought Finland was a good place. Where did you live? It sounds good."

"Oh, you wouldn't like it Warren. Its cold. Too cold for flip flops." I said.

"Where else have you lived?"

"Have I lived? I think the question is where _haven't _I lived! I've lived e-vvvvv-erywheeere!" I sung. "I've actually met those dyeing polar bears, Warren."

I said, but it was weird as I remembered. It was like peeking through someone else's memory box.

"Were your parents-."

"Shh. Too many questions. I can't answer them. Half remember. I only half remember."

"Parker. Could you just answer one more? Were your-"

"No."

"Parke-"

"No, no, no, no, no." I said.

I tried to put my hands to my ears to block out the sound but I couldn't move them.

"I can't move my arms!" I yelled. "Have you stolen them?"

Warren lifted up my arm so I could see. I laughed in relief; I didn't want a missing arm.

"Okay. We're just going to have to wrap it up." The doctor said.

I turned around and they were covering the red paint.

"Oh well. I don't like red anyway. Actually- yes I do. Give it back." I said.

The doctors all suddenly started moving around my bed and lifted me in the air.

"I'm like a carpet on a genie. No, other way 'round." I said.

I started moving, without moving, through the hallways. The world buzzed by me in a big blur. And suddenly, everything became even more lighter and I felt ill.

"Wait stop! Stop!" I yelled.

The doctors stopped and everything stopped moving.

"I don't feel too good. Everything is like- tiring. I'm going to go to sleep again." I said, letting my heavy eyelids take over.

"She's lost too much blood. We can't let her pass out!" I heard in the back of my mind.

All of a sudden, something foul went up my nose. I opened my eyes and tried to swat it away but I couldn't move my arms.

It stopped and I breathed again.

"That smells _disgusting_."

"Don't go to sleep again or you'll smell it again." Warren said.

"But I'm tired. You sleep when you're tired."

Everything moved again.

"I know this room." I slurres when we got into the ugly room with the bed.

There were lots of bright colours in the room. I squinted at them as I was lifted on to the bed.

"What's up with her?" The purple one asked.

I squinted more and the figures came in more focus, more vivid.

"Oh, It's Magenta." I said.

Everyone looked at me.

"Why is everyone looking so scared today?"

"Laughing gas?"

"Something like that."

"Do you know Warren wants to be a Smurf? I didn't. I had to tell him they're not real."

"What happened? She looks like she's been dragged through a puddle of blood." Magenta said.

"She was lying in one."

"Oh is that what it was? Blood is a funny word. Blood. Blood, blood, blood, blo-." My eyes widened. "Wait. If that was blood…" I reached for my hair, but both my arms couldn't move again.

"What's wrong with my arms? I can never move them."

I looked down at them, my normal arm had a strap over it and my blue one was strapped to my shoulder. I tried to un-strap my normal arm. But I couldn't because my other one was strapped.

"Can someone un-strap my arm? I cant move them."

"That's kind of the point." Zach said.

"Why am I not aloud to move them?"

"Because you'll pick at your hand." Warren said.

"You're just jealous because you don't have a blue arm. It's not a watermelon now, though." I added sadly.

Everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

"It was a watermelon. You can ask Warren."

There was silence and a few giggles and snickers.

"Did they get it off?" Layla asked.

Warren nodded. "It's going to hurt though."

**A/N. So what did you think?**

**Translation 1 - _Hello,_ _I have a blue watermelon as an arm._**

**~Review Reply~**

**Loving It- _Thats really nice to hear! Thank you! xxx_**

**PincessOliverTimmy- _He he... I can be evil like that. Thank you for reviewing! They always make me happy. xxx_**

**ILoveReadingAndWriting-_Aww. Thank you. I love to hear things like that. It makes me really happy. And I'll tell her. Thanks xxx_**

**Hope everyone enjoy's this... You can tell me if you do...**


	13. Primary Colour

**A/N So. I was just wondering if you guys want to 'request a scene'. If you want a scene to happen, i'll make it happen if you would like.**

**Enjoy xxx...**

**Wild Ways**

**Primary Colour**

The next day was a Saturday. I had stayed up all night and the doctors had been force feeding me things that kept me awake. I really wanted to sleep.

My colourful friends showed up early in the morning.

"You guys are such good friends. If I were a donkey, I would let you ride on my back." I giggled.

They all looked at each other.

"Shouldn't it be out of her system now?" Warren asked the nurse.

"She's getting better. Give it another half hour. Turns out the large dose was overdosed." She said.

"Dose." I repeated. "Funny word." I giggled.

The others smiled a bit.

"Yay! I'm making progress in getting you guys to _smile_." I shuffled a bit on my bed. "This bed isn't very comfortable. Like sitting on metal bubbles."

"Ring the bell if you need anything." The nurse said before she left.

"I'm hungry." I noticed.

"We'll ask the doctor if we can go get you something to eat." Layla said.

She and Will left.

"My arm is really itchy." I said, looking sadly at my strapped, normal arm. "Could someone loosen it a bit?"

Zach started to walk forward but was stopped by Warren.

"Look at that face. She's tricking you."

"I would never trick anyone." I looked offended.

"Even under drugs she's smart."

I giggled.

"Pleeeaase. I want my arm!" I plead.

They all laughed.

"It's so weird seeing her like this." Ethan said.

The others nodded. I copied but it made my head swim and everything went blurry. I put my head back on the bed.

I started shaking my legs for something to do.

"You'll regret that later." Warren said.

I furrowed my brows at him. He walked over and slowly pushed my legs down, stopping me from moving them.

"I'm bored." I huffed.

"Should we turn the TV on again?" Ethan suggested.

"No." The others said in unison.

"She'll go crazy about all the different shapes and colours again."

I smiled. "They were so pretty. TV's so clever and it doesn't even have a head." I giggled.

I flopped my head back on my pillow. I winced at the action; it hurt a bit on contact.

"Did that hurt?" Warren asked.

I nodded.

Everyone grinned.

"Oh so now you smile." I said.

"Finally! She can feel something!" Magenta threw up her hands.

"Wait. If it's wearing off, doesn't that mean everything's going to really hurt in a bit?" Ethan asked.

They all looked at me.

"Why can't ostriches fly? Its just teasing calling them a bird if they can't fly."

Will and Layla walked in with a tray of food.

"I might go get some food. I'm quite hungry. I didn't have any breakfast." Zach said.

The others all nodded.

"Me too."

Will, Zach, Layla and Magenta all left.

I looked down at my food.

"Now can you free my arm? How am I going to eat?" I asked.

Warren looked at me for a second. Then he sighed and went to un-strap my arm.

I waved it around when I got it back. It felt so good to have it again.

I shovelled the food into my mouth with difficulty because I couldn't use the knife. It bubbled with warmth inside my mouth. I giggled but stopped when my ribs hurt from doing so.

"Are you okay?" Warren asked.

"No. My body hurts a bit."

I looked down at my body.

"How come we're both Dalmatians and the others aren't?" I asked.

It took him a while to reply. "Oh, you mean the bruises? You'll know in a bit."

Warren turned around to Ethan and started talking to him.

I moved the tray off my lap and swung my legs out. I felt like a walk. I slid off of the bed and put my feet on the floor. My toes tingled unpleasantly and my leg had a dull ache. I thought it was just because I hadn't moved in a while.

I walked over to the flowers to smell them. They were colourful but smelt of dust. I felt them.

"Why do they make fake flowers?" I asked.

The two looked to my bed and then looked around the room for me.

"Parker!"

"Peace!" I mimicked.

"Get back on your bed!"

"No. I want a walk."

"Parker! Get back on your bed."

"No-."

I stopped speaking when a white-hot pain ran through my leg. I collapsed on the floor and yelped.

They ran over.

I breathed through my teeth as my leg hurt and my foot was starting to ache. My eyes widened when my ribs started to join in too but much worse.

I held my breath and bit my lip as everything started to become a dull ache or pain. They got sharper rapidly. Then I could feel my head and I instantly got a headache. Last of all, my wrist.

I screamed when it got to my wrist. It was like it had just been stuck in a pan of boiling water.

Warren wrapped his arms under me and lifted me over to my bed. Ethan pushed the button as I continued to scream.

I clasped my wrist instinctively. If felt like I'd been stabbed a thousand times- which actually was rather true.

A doctor ran in with the nurse.

Warren tried to pull my hand off my wrist. I screamed more. He got it and strapped it back to the bed. I started to cry and sweat while screaming.

The nurse almost-shoved a pill down my throat. I spluttered and my lip trembled. I bit it as hard as I could.

Another nurse came in and tried to usher Ethan and Warren out. Ethan walked out but Warren stood defiant by my side. I gripped onto the hem of his shirt through my strap because it was the only thing in reach.

He swapped it for his hand without my realising. A nurse shoved a mouth guard into my mouth to stop me biting my lip.

I stopped screaming and just breathed deeply while my whole body trembled and shook uncontrollably.

* * *

That Tuesday (three days later) I lay in the hospital doing nothing- again. I had a math sheet propped in front of me. I did it all in my head because I couldn't exactly write. And- yes- my arm was _still_ strapped to the bed. It was 'good' for keeping me at my bed and to stop my habit of itching all of my scabs and wrist.

zI had my first sleep the night before. So I was much happier than I had been for the past four days.

The nurse I had grown to like came in.

"You're looking well." She said brightly.

"I feel _so_ much better." I tried.

"Un-uh. Not yet. Soon but not yet."

I groaned. I'd been trying to convince all of the staff I was fine and they could let me go. No such luck.

"How soon?"

"Soon, soon."

"How soon until school?"

"Soon after that."

"What's your definition of soon?"

"It varies."

"That doesn't help, Molly."

"I know." She grinned cheekily. "It would be a lot sooner if you didn't keep scratching." She added.

"That's not my fault though. It happens sub-consciously!" I tried. "You could keep my good arm in a sling."

"To keep you from scratching?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "Or like, tape my fingers together."

"We cant put it in a sling because your wrist is strapped to your shoulder and both arms would cross over your chest. Taping them together would be silly."

I sighed shallowly- I had learnt from experience to not sigh deeply.

"What about the blue arm?" I asked, changing the subject. "Any clue?"

"It's just taking a while to get out of your system. Be patient. We reckon about a week, maybe less, until you can use your power _and_ move your arm."

The liquid had started to paralyze my arm two days ago. I couldn't move it but still feel it.

I groaned. These past few days had defiantly been the worst. No one was aloud to see me but the doctors and the nurse because my arm was at 'high risk of infection'. So I hadn't seen my friends since the operation.

A doctor came in the room.

"Ms. Parker."

I nodded.

"Anything?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes. We might be able to let you out sooner than we thought. Your wounds are doing rapid work to your defense and you wont get an infection very easily now."

I grinned. "How soon?"

"Soon, soon."

If I could, I would have threw up my hands.

"What is the definition of _soon_?"

Molly giggled.

"Two days."

"_What!_ Oh my gosh, that's amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Well, two days on _medical_ grounds. But there is a lot of things that could make your stay longer. You can't stay at your orphanage because there are too many stairs." I forgot about them. "And we don't trust your good arm. Even if you manage to restrain yourself while you're awake, there is always when you fall asleep that you could itch and make your wrist have to defend itself from scratch. "

Would they actually keep me longer for _that?_

I spluttered for an answer, then realised my only option. I frowned.

"Fine! I'll keep my arm _handcuffed_ to something." I grunted and bit my lip.

"Stop biting your _lip_." Molly said and lightly whacked my good arm.

I smirked.

"Well if you agree to that, I guess we'll start looking for somewhere for you to stay." The doctor smiled.

I grinned wildly.

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER

I woke up from my afternoon nap to someone shaking my arm. I opened my eyes to see a grinning Molly.

I grabbed my remote to sit myself up.

"What?" I asked.

"You're going to like this." She said. "We found somewhere!"

My eyes widened, ignoring how tired I was.

"Seriously? I thought we were going to have to wait another few days!" I exclaimed.

"We were. But then we stopped looking at other orphanages and at homes."

I furrowed my brows.

"You know your friend, Layla? Her mother has offered for you to stay at hers."

"_What!_ That's so cool!" I squealed excitedly.

"I know. And you can go today."

I sat up properly in excitement. I grunted at the pain my ribs made and lay back down.

I squealed and threw my good arm around, even though it was strapped to the bed.

"What about school?" I asked.

"Tomorrow."

I can't even _describe _how happy I was. It was like I had just been let out of prison after a life-long sentence.

"When am I leaving?"

"When she comes to collect you."

An hour passed of twiddling thumbs- wait, no. _Thumb_.- and finally someone came in.

"Okay, Miya. I'll help you get in your chair." Doctor said.

I grinned and swung my bandaged legs over the side of the bed. He half lifted me painfully into my chair. I didn't even grunt I was so happy.

He wheeled me through the halls I had come to know and into the reception. I instantly spotted the two, green females.

Layla looked up and saw me. She squealed and ran over.

"Miya! Miya, Miya, Miya, Miya, Miya. Omigosh Miya! How have you been?" She said excitedly.

"Good." I lied.

"It's so good to finally see you again!" She squealed. "The gang has been so… On edge. It's not the same without you. We didn't even get told if you were okay or not."

"Do the others know I'm out?" I asked.

She looked at me. "Miya. If they knew, where do you think they would all be right now? I wanted to leave it for you to say."

"I'm going to school tomorrow. I'll surprise them." I grinned mischievously

"Oh yeah! You should so do that! Their faces! Warrens face. Ooh, I want to be there for that."

* * *

The next day, we didn't take the bus. I got into the back seat of their car while they put my wheelchair in the back.

"Thanks again, Esme." I couldn't stop thanking her for taking me in.

"Miya. Stop saying thank you. I know you're thankful." She tapped her forehead, telling me she knew with her empath powers.

I smiled. Layla got in the passenger seat and we drove off.

I felt more sick than usual when we landed, but I ignored it. They got out my wheelchair and put it next to the door. I used Layla as support to haul myself in. It hurt but my excitement was numbing the pain.

We waved Esme goodbye and Layla pushed me towards the main doors. We were late so everyone was getting their stuff from their lockers.

We went around the stairs and waited a bit for the halls to empty so it was easier to get through.

When most were sitting down at their desks, Layla walked me briskly to our lockers an then took me outside my mad science class. It hadn't started yet and everyone was still chatting.

Layla pushed me through and I suddenly realised how embarrassing it was being in a wheelchair. I'm mean not _embarrassing_ but you got a lot of stares and I just wanted to hide my face. It was also embarrasing going around looking like I did then, bandages everywhere and I looked like I hadn't been to sleep since it happened.

Warren was looking out the window at our place at the back. Layla moved the chair next to him out of the way and wheeled me into to the desk.

"That seats taken." He grumbled moodily, still looking the other way.

"Good thing i'm not useing the seat then." I said with a smirk.

He froze and slowly turned around.

"Parker?" He furrowed his brows and then made a huge grin.

"I didn't know you were out! Let alone in school. How are you?"

I shrugged. "In a wheelchair? Not very good."

He looked down and then up at Layla who was leaving.

"Oh."

He knew I hated not being able to move.

"Your arm's still strapped." He noticed.

"I wasn't aloud out if I didn't agree to it." I mumbled.

But Warren heard anyway. He chuckled.

"So I guess you're going to have to write double the notes. One for me and one for you." I smirked.

His smile vanished which made me laugh. At Sky High, you wrote so much everyday that your hand would ache at the end.

"No. My arms in a cast."

"Warren. You're right handed."

He huffed nd shook his head. I smirked.

When the bell for lunch went. Warren got up and stood behind me. I shook my head and bought my mouth to my strap, unstrapping my good arm.

"Parker. You can't do that."

"Yes I can. I mean, when I stop moving i'll have to strap it back in. But if i'm going to move, im going to have to have a free arm."

"There are two things I have to say to that. First, they made that rule on the basis that people would push you around. Seond, wheelchairs are made for people with _two_ arms that can wheel it."

"Then I guess i'm going to have to work twice as hard." I said detemindly.

The class was empty when I started wheeling with my one arm. I immeadiatly crashed into a table. I put my arm on the other side and wheeled from there. I crashed into another desk.

"This is rediculous." Warren sighed and started to push me.

I turned around and looked up at him.

"I was doing _fine_." I said, annoyed at him pushing me.

Warren looked down at me with the slightest of a smirk.

"Whatever."

I faced forwards and pouted in a grump as we made it down the empty halls.

When we got to the cafeteria doors, my stomach suddenly dropped. Everyone was going to see me. I wanted to hide.

Warren pushed me through and I breathed deeply, ignoring my ribs.

People didn't nottice at first. But when we were in the queue to grab our lunch, I could feel half of the schools populations' eyes on me.

I sat mine and Warren's tray on my lap because he had to push me and didn't have another arm to carry his food with. Everyone was still chatting but staring.

"Hi Warren." The gang said as we came over.

He turned to a gap in the benches and wheeled me into it. Everyone looked up from their food.

"Miya?"

"Oh my god! Miya!"

I smiled at them as they grinned wildly.

"What? How come- when did you- when-."

"Yeah. When did you get out? We weren't aloud to see you."

"How are you?"

"How's the wrist?"

The questions all made my head throb. Layla picked up on it and spoke up.

"She came out yesterday. She's staying at mine."

"Thats so cool!" Magenta enthused.

"Yeah! When-."

Zach was cut off by Will. "Whats happening with your arm? Still a primary colour?"

"Paler, but yes. And I cant move it anymore."

"_What?!"_ Everyone gasped.

"It's only temporary. The chemicals temporarily paralyzed it."

**A/N**

**~Review Reply~**

**MschievousAngel0923- _Thank you. I thought it needed some lightening-up. Hope you enjoy the chapter! xxx_**

**GiraffePanda2-_ Yeah. I'll keep it to a minimum just for you if you'd like :) Thanks for reviewing! xxxx_**


	14. Emblem

**A/N. I know I usually put review replies at the bottom, but this is important and probably applies to a lot of you. So thank you Daeb for asking. **

**No, they didn't cut her arm off. What happened was she had a bracelet with deep needles in it. When something is that deep, it takes a while to make scabs and heal themselves. It really hurt all of a sudden because the drugs wore off and the pain from the opertion all came back in one go. **

**Her good arm is 'strapped' to the chair or bed because she itches it. It's crucial not to because if the forming scab is taken off, it will really hurt and it openes it to infection.**

**Her 'blue' arm is strapped to her opposite shoulder because it's above her heart .**

**I know i'm not very clear sometimes. So please don't be afraid to ask if you don't get something. I really don't mind explaining. **

**Enjoy xx...**

**Wild Ways**

**Emblem**

_"Miya Parker." _ I jumped when my name was called out on the loudspeaker. "_Warren Peace and Ashley Waterhouse. Could you all come to my office please? Thank you."_ Powers' voice vibrated through the school.

I looked at Layla.

"I bought my car today. I'll drive her back." Warren said to Esme and Layla.

They both nodded and Warren pushed me away from their car I was about to get into and back towards the school.

"Miya! Oh my gosh! I heard what you did! Are you okay?"

A bunch of students came in front of our path.

"Pretty cool you're doing hero work before you finish hero school." A guy winked.

I could feel Warren heat up from behind me.

They parted so we could get through only to be bombarded with the next lot of students who wanted to congratulate us. Even though this had been happening all day, by the time we got to the main doors to the school, my face was bright red.

But didn't the gang save the _whole_ school last semester? I guess you get more attention when you come ot scarthed.

Warren pushed me into the reception outside of the principles office. It had two policemen in it.

Warren stopped outside the office to knock on the door while I turned around, eyeing the police with curiosity.

"_Come in."_ A voice said inside.

Warren opened the door and pushed me inside. It smelt of roses and vanilla. There were two armchairs in front of Powers' desk with a large gap in between. Warren pushed me into the gap and sat in an armchair. Ashley was already in the other one.

"Hello." Power's said from behind her desk. "I guess you have figured out why I called you. I just wanted to say – now you are all back in school- how deeply sorry I am for that event to have happened." She said genuinely. "And, I'm not really meant to say this, but I am impressed at how you handled the situation. A lot of people wouldn't have been able to handle anything like that at your age in this school."

"Why do _you_ think they wanted me?" Ashley asked.

I looked over at her. Her bruise was still visible and had a minimum amount of concealer on it.

"Our experts say it was either for ransom or for information on Sky High."

"Like, where it is?" Warren asked.

"Yes. Sky High's location is a very useful piece of information to have for a super villain: the site of hero birth." She said.

"Why are there two policeman outside?" I blurted.

"For you. The other two gave a statement and answered some questions while you were under."

"Oh."

"Is there anything else you would like to ask?" She paused. "No? Okay. You can go home."

She gestured for Warren to leave me because I needed to talk with the police.

"I'll wait outside." He said before leaving.

Power's called outside the door for the policemen. When the pair came in, she vanished into a side door I hadn't noticed was there.

The police moved the armchairs so they were both facing me.

As they sat down, the room started to smell badly of strong BO and cigars.

"You're Ms. Parker, yes?" The fat one without the recorder and notepad asked.

I nodded.

"We are just going to ask a few questions. It will only be quick."

I nodded again.

"Alright. First, Why do you think those attackers came on to the roof." The fat one asked, showing off his yellow teeth.

I shrugged. "For Ashley?"

"You say that as if it were a question."

"It is."

"Okay. Second, how did they get onto the roof?"

"Helicopter."

"What were they wearing?"

"Black."

"Did you see any skin? Eye colour? Birthmark?"

"No."

"Were they all men?"

"No."

"How many women?"

"Two."

"How could you tell?"

"Curves."

"Did you use your power?"

"Yes."

"What as?"

"A Leopard."

"What significant injuries did they end up with?"

"Claw marks. Bumps. Bruises. Broken ribs."

"Hmm. Okay. And I hear you can fight. True?"

"True."

"How come?"

I knew that policemen wouldn't have a high enough security clearance to access my real files about my past. Only the fake ones the government made.

"My dad was a karate teacher." I lied.

"He died didn't he?"

The temptation for sarcasm then was huge.

"Yeah. He taught me when he was alive."

"What about your languages?" He asked, looking down at my fake file.

"Mom was a language freak."

"What did they do for a living?"

I wanted to ask what this had to do with anything, but that's the worst thing to question two cocky policemen on.

"Artist and architect."

"How did they die?"

That fake answer was undoubtedly on my fake file. What were they doing? They could already see.

"Car accident." I recited.

"Is there anything ele you saw on the roof that might mean something. Even something little."

"No."

"You didn't take long to answer that."

"Yes I did. Just under a week.

The policemen stopped and stared at me. I think it was meant to be intimidating or something but it wasn't working. I kept my face passive.

"Have you done this before?" He asked.

"What?"

"Been questioned?"

"No."

The only other time I could think of was right after I was found in Thailand.

"Hmm."

He looked to his colleague who was stroking his stubble and also staring at me.

"You are just very… good."

"Good at being questioned?" I asked.

"You're answers aren't too long and your expression remained completely neutral. You don't look anywhere but my eyes and your body remained still."

"Well, that's easy for someone in my state." I looked down at my bandaged body.

Both of them chuckled a bit.

"I guess your right." He said, getting up.

"Okay. That should be all for now."

I nodded and they left, soon to be replaced by Warren who came in to take me out.

We got to his car and I gently lifted myself into the passenger seat. He put my chair in the back and then got in the driver seat.

"It happened again, didn't it?" He said as we flew off the school.

"What?"

He shrugged. How could he read me so well?

"Yeah it did." I said. "I am apparently brilliant at being questioned."

He looked at me to raise a brow and then back at the sky.

"They said I was 'neutral' and 'still.' 'Good at being questioned.'"

He furrowed his brows while keeping his eyes trained on the sky.

"Passive?"

"Yeah. Like, I didn't give anything away."

I shrugged, shaking it off.

There was a long silence until we got onto the road.

"Parker?"

I looked at him.

"I've got something to tell you." He said.

I nodded.

"Do you remember what you said when you had that laughing-liquid injection."

"No. I remember what I felt like. But not what I said. Why?"

He sighed.

"Why? What did I say?" I asked, getting curious; I hadn't thought about what I said while I was under drugs.

He didn't answer.

"Warren?" I pushed.

"You were saying stuff about Finland."

"Finland?"

"Yeah. Well, actually you were saying stuff _in_ Finnish."

"What?"

"You can speak Finnish."

"Oh. That's cool." I smiled.

"That's not it."

I furrowed my brows at him.

"You were saying stuff about your parents and how beautiful Finland was."

I froze.

"Parker?" Warren asked after a while.

"What did I say?" I asked blankly.

"You were saying things about how it was too cold to wear flip-flops."

"No. What did I say exactly?"

"You said you learnt in Finland. That you lived there for a bit. It was beautiful but cold. You said you had lived everywhere and that you had met 'dyeing polar bears'."

"What else?"

"Nothing. That was pretty much it… about your past."

"You didn't ask me questions? Why didn't you ask me more?!" I asked.

"You wouldn't let me. You said you only 'half remembered'."

"Oh."

I sat back in my seat taking it all in.

"So I… remembered."

"Half remembered." Warren corrected.

"More than I can do now."

I took a deep breath.

"So I lived in… _Finland_?" I asked.

"And, apparently with the polar bears."

"Where else did I say I lived?"

Warren smirked. "Your exact words were, 'I've lived e-vvvvv-erywheeere'."

"And what was with the polar bears?"

"You were asking if the lights could be turned off so you could go to sleep. That we were killing polar bears by keeping them on."

He drove up next to Layla's house and got the wheelchair out the back. I lifted myself into it. He pulled me up to the house and knocked on the door. Layla opened it.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

The next day Layla knocked on Will's door. Will opened it and smiled. Layla pushed me into the brightly-coloured living room. We were the first one's there.

"Do you want anything?" Will asked.

"OJ." I said.

"AJ." Layla asked.

He nodded and went to the kitchen to fetch our juices just as Magenta, Ethan, Zach and Warren came in.

"Hey." They all said and sat in a variety of different seats.

I looked out the window and thought about Finland. How could I get back on those drugs to find out more? Or how could I remember in the first place? Could I remember everything or just bits?

I was so deep in thought that Will had to shake me to get my attention. My eyes fluttered, taking me out of thought.

"Mhmm?"

He didn't say anything but handed me my glass of orange juice.

"Oh thanks." I said.

I sipped the juice slowly.

"Earth to Miya." Magenta said, waving her arms.

I blinked out of my daze again.

"What are you thinking of?"

I shrugged.

"What did I say when I was under the laughing-drug?" I asked.

I knew I shouldn't have when everyone turned to me with wide grins on their faces.

"What?" I asked.

They all started laughing.

"Guys?"

Based on their laughing, they probably didn't have the answer I was looking for.

"What?" I asked when everyone's giggles were dyeing.

"Sorry Miya." Zach said when everyone was quiet. "We're just jealous we don't have watermelon arms."

Everyone erupted with another round of hard-core laughing.

"Sorry, Warren. Smurfs aren't real." Will said.

Ethan was practically wetting himself on the floor.

"Smurf?" I asked confusedly.

Magenta stuck both her arms in the air and started waving them frantically.

"I can't move my arms! Have you stolen them?" She shouted.

Will hid one of his arms behind his back.

"Guys! I can't find my other arm!"

Even Warren was finding it harder to breath from all the laughing. Layla was in a coughing fit and Ethan wasn't making any noise but clutching his stomach and rolling on the floor.

"Guys! What are you on about? You all look like lunatics!" I asked, laughing a bit myself.

"_We _look like lunatics? You should've seen what you looked like."

I was mystified. What did watermelons and Smurfs have to do with anything?

Will looked at his watch.

"Guys. We got to go. The movie starts in twenty minutes."

Everyone took there time getting up and grabbing there stuff.

"Should we give it to her now?" Ethan asked Will.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that." Will said. "Go get it."

Everyone shared looks with each other.

"What's he getting?" I asked.

"You'll see." Warren said mischievously.

"What!" I asked.

"You're so impatient Parker."

"I'm not. I'm just curious."

"No, you're not. You're both."

I was about to say something when Will cut in.

"Miya. Can you sit on the sofa for a second?"

I furrowed my brows.

"Only if you tell me what's going on."

"Did I mention stubborn too?" Warren butted in.

I glared at him.

"Please?" Will plead.

"No. I like my chair." I lied. "If you tell me-."

I stopped when warm, strong arms wrapped around me and lifted me out of my chair while Maj unstrapped my arm.

"Warren!" I squealed as I was levitated in the air.

It surprisingly didn't hut as much as I thought it would. He was holding me in the same position I was sitting in on my chair.

He plopped me lightly on the sofa. Before I could say anything, Ethan had grabbed my chair and went around the corner with Zach, Maj, Layla and Will.

"Real mature guys." I said.

I didn't know they could be so mean to pick on the crippled one.

"Guys when-." I stopped when they came back in.

They had done something to my chair that made it look even more hideous than it already was. There were random bits of wires circling it to make a black and red halo.

"What?" Was all I could say.

Everyone had smug looks on their faces.

"There's no point in trying to watch my reaction to something I have no understanding of." I said.

Ethan rolled his eyes.

"We made a simple device that will enable you to move around by this little knob here." He pointed to a stick on the side of the arm. "It's on the side so you can still be strapped in and move it with a finger."

I stared.

"How is that a '_simple'_ device?" Were the only words that sprang to mind.

"When you have a senior metal manipulator and the right equipment, it's simple."

"How did you get a senior involved?"

Will shrugged. "A lot of people heard what happened. It's pretty epic you two got away."

"You do know I'm only in this thing for a week right?"

"It wasn't hard, or expensive to make." Layla said.

"Yeah. We just felt bad seeing you not being able to move since you're the one who usually moves enough to make up for us all." Zach said.

I smiled.

"Thanks guys."

I'm really not good at thanking people, but hopefully they got it.

They pushed the chair towards me and I hauled myself in.

"So how does it work?" I asked.

Layla strapped my arm in.

"You just move it in the direction you want to go."

I moved it with the ends of my fingers. It crashed into the sofa. I reversed and spun around.

I grinned.

"Thanks." I said.

I know it's a pathetic attempt. I just… don't know how to say it.

"Okay. Lets get going."

* * *

I was thoroughly enjoying my chair. Although, I did feel a bit old. But it was much better than people pushing me.

It was cold outside. It was freezing but not snowing. The wind nibbled at my face and hand but I had bought a blanket to wrap around my body. There are some privileges to wheelchairs. Not many but some.

Ten minutes later we arrived outside the cinema. When we got in, it was like walking into a warm wall of heat. My hand tingled at the change in temperature.

We got our tickets from the red and gold booth for some action movie. I didn't like movies much. I just liked going for the outing.

Warren unstrapped my good arm so I could hold my ticket. When I looked at my ticket, I got slightly angry. I wasn't '_disabled'_. I was just hurt.

"Its just a ticket." Warren calmed, seeing how ticked off I was.

I took a deep breath and went into screen four after all my friends. They had a row with a space on the end for me. Everyone sat down. I was about to swivel into my place when someone bumped into me.

I turned to see a bunch of drinks fall to the floor.

"Watch it moron!" The girl who dropped them shouted.

"Are you blind or something?" She said.

She spun around to face me. When she couldn't see me, she looked around until she spotted me a little lower in my chair. I could see her feel a little guilt because I was in a wheelchair but it was quickly covered again with her bitchy temper.

I looked up in mock-thought.

"Hmm. I don't think I'm blind. But I wouldn't have been surprised if I was though. That car seemed to get me everywhere else…" I trailed off, looking at my bandaged body.

"It looks it. Did that car deform everything, or was your face already like that?" She asked with a smirk.

_Bitch!_

"You know what. You can call me ugly once you've stopped drowning yourself in inane amounts of makeup and take a shower 'cause you smell like shit." I retorted.

She looked offended.

"Oh wait. You didn't knock over all my drinks." She looked at the one remaining in her hand. "There's still one left. And I can think of a better use for it than relieving my thirst."

She was starting to move her hand so the drink was above my head. I grabbed her other arm and pressed down on a pressure point. Her hand with the drink let go and I quickly caught it before it landed on my lap.

I didn't want to be mean and pouring it over her would mean I was just as bitchy. So I bought it to my lips and took a large sip. When I bought it down I made a large sigh.

"You're right. My thrist has a higher priority." I smirked.

She gave a death-stare as I reversed and went to the others with her drink in hand.

"Oh. Did you get a drink?" Warren asked, staring confusedly at my drink.

"Uh… Sort of." I smiled and reversed into my slot.

The movie was okay. It was too unrealistic for me. You can't get shot in the arm and then dangle off a building with only_ that arm _to keep you up. But the others seemed to enjoy it. Especially Ethan - who I had the misfortune to be sitting next to.

"Did you see that!?" He would say when the main guy was kicking ass.

"No Ethan. I paid six fifty to go to the cinema and stare at the beautiful display of various types of two-year-old gum stomped into the abominable, depreciated carpet."

* * *

Warren held up the glass tube we had brewed. It had a green, pink bubbling liquid inside.

"Okay would you like to test it?" Medulla asked.

Warren poured a drop onto a teaspoon and handed it to me because it was my turn to test the experiment.

"Wait." I said.

He probably forgot this one wouldn't work on me.

"I had the last one." I lied. "It's your turn."

"No you- oh yeah. You did." Warren said, catching on.

Without another word, he shovelled the spoon in his mouth and instantly flopped in his chair.

"Nice work." Medulla said, writing on his clipboard and walking away.

I shook Warren's shoulder. He woke up drowsily.

"You're taking the next two." He said moodily.

"Whatever." I smirked.

"Try it." He said after a while.

"Try what?" I asked.

"The liquid."

"Sleeping stuff doesn't work on me, or did you forget in the last two seconds?" I asked, referring to him taking it instead of me.

"I just want to see."

"You already have."

I looked at him and sighed. I grabbed the bottle and downed a couple of gulps.

It did nothing.

"I don't see how that…" He trailed off.

Medulla started droning on about all the different ingredients. And – You may not believe it – but I was actually catching on. There were things I hadn't even known existed a few weeks before that I now remembered the chemical formula's for. It was all slowly sinking in.

I had been so lost in listening that I hadn't noticed Warren wasn't taking our notes. I heard the familiar shading of a pencil.

"I didn't know you were an artist, Peace." I whispered, still watching Medulla draw a diagram.

"I'm not."

I looked over at what he was drawing. My eyes grew wider and my brows creased.

"Wha- what is that?" I asked.

It was a funny circle with patterns inside. I could swear I had seen it before, but where?

"I don't know. An emblem? It doesn't matter though."

"Have you seen it before?" I asked blankly.

"Why?"

"Just answer."

"Yeah." He sighed. "I saw it after you were knocked out on the roof."

My brows creased further.

"Why?" He repeated.

I shook my head.

"Have _you_ seen it before?" He asked.

I stared blankly over his shoulder and out the window, biting my lip.

"I don't know."q

I tried pinpointing when I saw it but I couldn't quite think.

I jumped out of my trance when the bell rang. I gathered my stuff and dumped it in my locker.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_"What do you mean you 'don't know' if you've seen it or not?" I asked when we were queuing for food._

_"I don't know. I think I have but I can't quite…" She trailed off in thought._

_"Maybe you saw it before your mind was erased."_

_She shook her head and bit her lip._

_"It was closer. Not years. Only months or days ago."_

_I grabbed our food and gave the trays to her. She put them on her lap and we went over to our table. Layla passed me my tray from her lap and unstrapped her arm so she could eat._

_I pulled out the piece of paper with my drawing on._

_"Have any of you seen this before?" I said, spreading it out and putting it in the middle of the table._

_Everyone leaned over to see it better, followed by some puzzled looks and shaking of heads._

_"No. Why?" Will asked._

_I shrugged and put it back in my pocket._

_Everyone was used to me and how I rarely gave answers. Only asked the questions. So they didn't think much of it._

_I started eating my shit food while they talked. Where could Parker have seen that anywhere else? I thought nothing of it, just a tattoo. But if she had seen it before, it probably meant something._

_I was startled out of thought. My eyes were grazing around the area and landed on something… odd. _

_Mr. Anson was staring at Parker. Parker couldn't see because he was behind her. It wasn't that he was staring at her that startled me. It was the way he was staring at her. His shoulders sagged and his lips curved slightly down at the edges. But his back was straight and he was nervously moving his fingers. It looked like he was sad and uncomfortable, or maybe depressed and nervous._

_I had obviously been looking too long because Parker was staring at me with a cocked brow. She tried to follow my gaze and spun around. The action knocked Mr. Anson out of his trance and he carried on eating. So there was nothing left for Parker to see._

_"What were you looking at?" She asked._

_"Nothing." I shrugged._

_She didn't buy it and narrowed her eyes at me._

_"What was it?" She asked playfully._

_I closed my eyes and leaned back, folding my arms. Telling her I wasn't going to say._

_She tutted but let it go._

**A/N So... Mr. Anson is a bit strange. And what's up with the emblem?**

**~Review Repy~**

**Fishpuppy-****_Aww. Thanks hon. Tell me if you dont like anything or if you want something to _**

**Daeb-****_ Thanks for asking. I know im not always clear, i get a bit over-excited sometimes and forget to check it. So thanks! xxx_**


	15. Poppins

**A/N Sorry, didnt have time to spell check so please tell me if anything is wrong! xx**

**Wild Ways**

**Poppins**

A few days later I was uncharacteristically smiling like a loony. The last blimmin' day I would stay in that god-forsaken chair. My mood was effecting and reflecting the others around me. So all in all, it was a good morning so far. Apart from the fact my doctor's appointment was scheduled for the same time as Ethan's birthday party. Even though his birthday was actually on Monday, it was easier for everyone to do it on the Friday.

But I didn't want to stay in the chair for any longer than I had to and I told them I would come as soon as the doctors were done with me.

"So what restaurant are you going to?" I asked everyone.

"The tapas bar, Poppins." Ethan replied.

"Are you sure you don't want a lift from the hospital to the restaurant when you're done?" Layla asked.

"Yeah. I think I might want to walk." I said.

Warren looked unsure.

"Just because you're ditching the chair doesn't mean you should take every chance you can to walk. It'll take longer to heal." Ethan said.

"I know." I replied. "And what's your problem with my walking, Warren?" I asked, referring to his expression.

He shrugged. "It's just going to be late. You probably shouldn't be walking alone at that time in Maxville."

"I am perfectly capable of handling myself." I reassured.

Warren raised a brow. "Not now your not."

I looked offended.

"Well you can't use your powers yet and you're not in exactly the right state for fighting." He explained.

He had a point.

"Actually, I probably could use my powers now. I just haven't tried yet."

Everyone stared at me and I gave up.

"Fine. Someone can take me." I said reluctantly.

"Call me and I'll pick you up." Warren said, since he was the only one who could drive.

I nodded and finished eating before the bell rang.

* * *

"See you soon." I said before Layla left.

"See you." She said before shutting the door behind her.

My appointment was in another half hour. Esme wasn't in the house so I just turned on the TV. I'm not very good at watching TV. I feel like I could be doing other things. But twenty minutes later I wheeled out and went to the hospital which was conveniently nearby.

"Hello." I said when I wheeled into the reception.

The familiar smell of disinfectant and air freshener hit me.

"Hey sweetie. How are you doing? I haven't seen you since you were let out." The receptionist smiled brightly.

I had made friends with most of the hospital staff during my stay. Apparently I had been 'amusing company'. So a lot of them wanted to look after me instead of doing a different boring job.

"Yeah. I've only come for one check-up since though." I smiled.

"So. I'm guessing you're getting rid of the chair." She said.

I grinned in answer.

"Dr. Haufmann is waiting. Corridor on the right, seventh door down." She smiled.

"Thanks." I said and wheeled off.

"Hey Miya. How have you been?" An intern, Rob, asked when I was halfway down the hall.

He had just come out of uni and was doing a three week trial Corse.

"Good thanks."

"Getting out of the chair?"

I grinned.

"See you later. Get better soon." He said and left.

I knocked on the door.

"_Come in."_

I it and wheeled in.

_Warren POV_

_The restaurant was nice. We went out the back and into a courtyard that had lights in the trees and streams running under the bamboo floorboards. _

_The waitress led us to a long table in the centre of the courtyard. When I sat down I could only see the other customers through plants and shrubs._

_"Are you waiting for another person?" The red-haired waitress asked, gesturing to the other place that was booked._

_"Yeah. She'll be coming later." Ethan said._

_The waitress smiled and left_

_"So guys. Everyone excited for the valentines ball next week?" Layla asked excitedly._

_The guys all groaned._

_"Have you got your dress yet?" Magenta asked._

_"Yeah. You?" _

_"Yes. Has Miya?"_

_"I don't think she's going. We need to get her to go."_

_"Yeah. Miya can't not go."_

_They both nodded at each other._

_"What about you Ethan? You got your tux?"_

_"Yeah." He mumbled._

_"Warren..?" Layla asked hopefully._

_"No."_

_"Why not?"_

_"I'm not going."_

_"But you have to go!" Magenta said._

_"Yeah. Why not?" Layla asked._

_"What if the school needs saving again?" Magenta joked, it earned a few chuckles._

_"Yeah. How would we save it without the pyrokinetic?" Layla played._

_"I'm not going." I said bluntly._

_"Come on, Warren. It'll be fun. What about Miya. She's going to want some sophomore company." Layla tried._

_"You just said Miya wasn't going." _

_"Hah! So you would go if Miya was going." Magenta pointed._

_"No. That's not what-."_

_"You so would as well." Layla said._

_"No. What-."_

_"Now Miya has to go." Magenta said._

_Layla nodded._

_"Miya has nothing to do with why I'm not going."_

_Everyone was silent and looked at me._

_"What?" I said irritably._

_"We all know Warren." Will said._

_"Know what?"_

_Everyone shared glances._

_"You like Miya." Zach said. _

_"What? Oh that's what all this is about. Miya's just a friend."_

_Everyone shared knowing glances with each other. They didn't believe me. But I couldn't really be bothered in trying again. I didn't have to either because the waitress came back with our drinks and asked what we wanted to eat._

_When the food came a while later, I ate it silently. I stayed out of the conversation. Something was odd. I looked around at the other customers through the leaves. I noticed that they were all the original people since we had come; no one had come and no one had left. _

_"This stuff's good, man." Zach said._

_"Yeah. Nice choice in restaurant, Ethan."_

_"Thanks. My parents come here a lot."_

_No one knew for ages, but his parents were uncharacteristically rich._

_"Oh yeah, what did you want for your birthday, dude?" Zach asked._

_I looked around and tried to see the face of one of the customers, but they were all facing away or side on. Come to think of it, I hadn't seen any of their faces the whole night._

_"A new laptop and-."_

_"Didn't you get a new laptop last birthday?"_

_"Yeah but there has been like, four new generations since then."_

_I looked at Will who had been quiet. He was looking slightly… off too. _

_"Stronghold." I whispered. He nodded. "Do you feel-."_

_"Like something's wrong?"_

_I nodded._

_"What is it?" He asked._

_"The customers. You can't see any of their faces. None of them have left since we came."_

_He looked around._

_"And it's quieter than normal restaurants." He added._

_ I nodded, just noticing he was right. _

_I looked at one of the tables. Three of them suddenly put their hands to their ears in unison, they looked like they were cringing. Cringing from pain. In their ears. At the same time. _

_Earpieces._

* * *

Miya POV

"Hi Dr. Haufmann." I greeted.

"Hello Ms. Parker. Long time no see." He said. "So. How have you been recently? Painkillers working?"

"Good as gold." I smiled.

"Come on then. Lets take a look at that wrist."

I wheeled closer to him. He took my blue arm out of its strap/sling on my shoulder and I gently moved it to my lap.

"So it's definitely not paralysed anymore?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I can move it."

"The blue is fading as well."

It's true, the blue was still there but almost gone. If someone saw it and I was outside in the snow, they would probably think that I just had bad circulation in the cold.

"I reckon you cold use your power. Don't try just yet but I think It wouldn't hurt if you did." He said.

He unwound the bandage off my wrist to reveal where the bracelet was.

"Wow. That's doing a lot better. You are extraordinarily quick at healing Ms. Parker." I smiled. "That scab is very strong indeed, considering how deep the wounds are. I don't think you should need to put a bandage around it anymore, air is good for it. But we'll keep it in the sling/strap on your shoulder."

I nodded, grinning. _I was making progress!_

"Okay. Let's take a look at your foot. "

I took off my sock (there wasn't any point in shoes).

"Perfect. That's fine now. Let's see your leg."

I wore tracksuits so I could roll them up easily. He started poking around the bruise. It hurt a bit but not as much as I would've thought.

"Looking good. Do you mind lifting up your shirt a little so we can have a look at your ribs?"

I nodded and unwrapped the bandage before lifting up my top a little above my belly button.

"Still some bruising but less than I would've expected. You're a fast healer out of the fast healers." He said, talking about how supers heal faster. "So that makes you one of the fast_est._ And that, Ms. Parker, Is never a bad thing."

I smiled a bit.

"So… No wheelchair?" I asked hopefully.

He sighed. "Yes. It means no wheelchair."

I squealed.

He got up and went into a little storage cupboard. He came back out with one crutch.

"Now your foot is healed, you're fine to step on it. You can't have another crutch because of your arm but I think that'll be fine."

I grinned.

"Yeah. That'll do." I said sarcastically.

He smiled. I threw my blanket on the floor and leant forward.

"Wait. Before you get out, put this bandage 'round your stomach." He said, handing me the bandage.

I quickly wrapped it round my waist and pulled down my top. I leant forward, again, and he handed me my crutch. I stood up a bit too fast. I stumbled and winced when I put all my weight on my bad leg. He caught me before I fell over.

"Whoa. Easy tiger."

I balanced and propped myself on the crutch.

"Okay. I'm fine." I said and took a deep breath.

I pulled a smile on my face.

"We'll keep the chair with your device thing until you can come back and collect it sine I don't think you'll be able to pull it along behind you yet."

I smiled at him. "Thanks Haufmann."

"Okay. You may go now Ms. Parker."

* * *

_Warren POV_

_"Warren. Did you see that? What was that?" Will whispered._

_"They're wearing earpieces." I explained._

_We looked at the others._

_"- are not. But I also got some cool…" Ethan trailed off when he noticed how Stronghold and I were looking at the gang._

_"What?" He asked, turning a bit more serious to match our expressions._

_"Guys. Don't act unusual but…" Will trailed off._

_"But…" Magenta prompted._

_"Some of the customers have earpieces."_

_Everyone looked at him confusedly._

_"I think we should leave."_

_Everyone looked around._

_"Guys. Stop it. We've got to act casual." Stronghold whispered._

_"Pretend were having a normal conversation. Ethan, ask for the bill." I said._

_He nodded and we all started talking animatedly. _

_"So, what about the monarchy?" Zach started._

_We all looked at him. How random a topic could you choose?_

_"I don't think it's good. They can't choose if they can have that life or not." He tried._

_We all looked at him confusedly. But Layla tried to help him._

_"The queen is really cool though."_

_"Yeah. I want to go to London to go see Buckingham. There's loads of tourism based on it." Magenta said._

_"Based on what? Someone waveing in a car from half a mile away?"_

_"No. The history." Layla said._

_The waitress came. _

_This time I noticed there was a hidden hairline, a wig._

_"Hi. Can we have the bill?" Ethan asked._

_"No dessert?" She asked._

_"Do you guys want pudding?" He asked, looking down at us._

_We all shook are heads and patted our stomachs saying we were full._

_"You sure? I could get the menu if you just wanted to look at them."_

_"No. I think we're fine thank you."_

_"Aren't you waiting for another one?" She asked._

_I shook my head. _

_"She cancelled." I lied._

_The waitress played with her fingers._

_"Oh... Okay. I'll go get your bill then." She said and walked hurriedly away._

_I hid an exchanged glance with Will._

_"Maybe you guys should go. Will and I will pay. We'll catch up with you later." I said._

_Not because I thought they weren't good in a fight – which they were - but because we might need some outside men if things started getting out of place._

_They all nodded, we were all in the same school, we all knew the same tactics. They got up and left. I saw Layla go to the girls bathroom and Zach to the boy's._

_The waitress came back and nervously bit her nails as we paid. She grabbed it and hurried off._

_Will and I got up and started to leave. When we got to the entrance of the main restaurant – exit of the courtyard- men were blocking our way. More men came up behind us._

* * *

Miya POV

I stumbled out of the room. It was weird to walk not having done so in such a long time.

"Waaay! Miya. Your out!" The intern said.

"Finally." I sighed.

"Whoop whoop." He yelled.

"Thanks, Rob."

He winked and left down the hallway with his trolley.

"Congrats, Sweetie." The receptionist smiled when I got to the reception.

I smiled at her and pulled out my phone. I dialled Warren's number. It rang for longer than it should've but eventually someone answered.

"Warren, I-."

"Oh hi Miya." Layla's voice said. She was panting.

"Layla?"

I heard a yelp in the background.

"Yeah. It's me. Lay- wait one second."

I heard some shuffling and then another loud noise, a crash. More shuffling.

"Sorry."

"Layla, where are you?"

"Where- are- we? We're at the restaurant. "She panted.

"What's happening?" I asked, confused.

"What's happening?" She paused. "What do you mean what's happening?"

"What was that-." I was cut off with a little yelp form Layla. "Layla, are you alright?"

"Yeah. Just-uh… spicy food."

"Layla, you're not such a good liar."

She didn't reply.

"Is Warren going to pick me up?"

"Oh. Um… Uh. I don't… I think you should wait at home. I'll meet you there."

"Why can't I come?"

"Ur… Really. Disgusting food. Blech. Like, nasty. Don't ever let Ethan pick the restaurant."

"I can still come."

"No you can't. It's all poisoned. I mean… food poisoning. Nasty stuff. Anyway, I'll see you at home."

"Wait Lay-."

"Bye."

The phone beeped in my ear.

* * *

_Warren POV._

_I looked at Will in the corner of my eye. Fight or flight? He pointed a finger up. Flight; too many men and I didn't really feel like fighting either._

_He took action first and punched someone in the stomach. I shot a fire ball at the closest person and punched another with my hand over five-hundred degrees. _

_We were only fighting so it would be safe for flight. We just had to make sure there would be no obstacles._

_I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket when I was punching. In the corner of my eye I saw Layla running around the place, she was nearing me._

_"Layla. Catch." I yelled._

_I chucked it at her and she caught it with a vine. _

_"Oh, hi Miya." I heard._

_Will threw a table at a man. He yelped. _

_They were good but we weren't planning on staying long. And we certainly weren't planning on getting injured over this._

_"Yeah. It's me. Lay-." A man started running at Will from behind. "Wait one second." She put the phone down and sent a vine to the man. It dangled him fifty feet in the air. She picked up the phone again. "Where-are-we?" She said between pants. "We're at the restaurant… What's happening?" She held the phone away from her ear and covered the microphone._

_"Warren, what shall I tell Miya?"_

_"Restaurant messed up." I called._

_"Ethan, Zach, Magenta. You guys go, we'll catch up in a second." They all nodded and ran off._

_I heard Layla say bye and hang up._

_Someone grabbed me from behind and held a knife to my throat._

_"Where is she? Where's the girl?" He yelled in my ear._

_I heated up in a split second, he instinctively released me and I kicked him away._

_Will quickly grabbed mine and Layla's arms and flew up and out of the courtyard._

**A/N Oooh. What girl do they want? Why do they want her?**

**~Review Reply~**

**Mika Carrol- ****_Aww. Im glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing! Xx_**

**Queen of Night-****_Oh, That's a good idea. I'll put that in somewhere for you. Thanks for the help! Xx_**

**Molly Grace 16- ****_Oooh. You might be right about that. About Mr Anson and the tattoo. But there is a small twist For Mr.A though. Xx_**

**Shaybo27****_- hats so weird, I have a Ms. Honey as a science teacher. Ha ha I like the nick name. And I feel honered this is your first one! Im glad you enjoyed it. Felt exactly the same way when I last watched a film like that (loved that Lizzie MG movie btw). You might be right about Mr. A aswell. Aww, how was the surgery? My friend got her appendix removed too, apparently it really hurt L, Thanks so much for reviewing hon! xx_**


	16. Tailing

**A/N My computer crashed when I nearly finished this chapter. I had to rewrite it from the begging ;(. I was also reading a really intense book. I'm really sorry I haven't updated for a while**

** Enjoy...**

**Wild Ways**

**Tailing**

_Warren POV_

_We all met at Wills house - who lived the closest, and whose parents were out accepting an award in Germany or something. _

_Layla, Will and I got there first. Will landed a few streets down and we walked quickly to his house (still high on adrenalin)._

_Hey used a key from a fake, hollow rock by the door and we followed him into the living room. He was turning on the lights when Ethan, Zach and Magenta walked in._

_We all sat stiffly on a furniture of choice and stayed silent. The room was full of tension from the event and the panting because of it._

_"So." Will said._

_"What do you think we should do?" Zach asked silently._

_There was a long pause._

_"There's no point in telling anyone." We all looked at Ethan. "We don't even have proof the situation even happened. We came out without a scratch."_

_"Yeah. No ones going to believe us, speaking against one of the most trusted and nice restaurants in the city. Even if they did, what are they going to do?" Magenta asked._

_"We don't even know what they wanted." Ethan said._

_I stiffened, so did Will opposite me. There was a silence._

_"We do." Will said._

_The gang all furrowed their brows and looked at him._

_"How?" Layla asked._

_Will looked at me. I couldn't move._

_"Well... After you guys left." Will said, gesturing to everyone but Layla, " and you were busy tangling someone up in vines. Warren was..." he trailed off and looked at me, I remained still. "he was held In a choke hold with a knife." Everyone looked at me and then at my neck. "He heated up and they let go of corse - but before that. He was asking him 'where she was' and 'where was the girl'."_

_Everyone mulled this over, not getting it._

_"Who?" Zach asked._

_Ethan's face lit up in realisation._

_"Well... We think it's Miya." Will said quietly._

_Everyone gasped._

_"Why would someone want her?" Layla asked worriedly._

_I thought the question over._

_"Does that mean the attack on the roof wasn't for Ashley?" Magenta asked_

_"... Probably." Will answered._

_"And that's why the waitress was so touchy about the extra place. Offering us dessert encase she was just late."_

_Layla was biting her nails. " But... It was all so... Planned."_

_My eyes widened._

_"That's why she was on the roof in the first place. I should've thought of this earlier. Out of the three of us, she was the only one who was meant to be there."_

_"What do you mean?" Will asked._

_"Her Chalk Talk schedule told her to be on the roof at that time. I was with her cause I lost mine and Ashley wanted some air and was locked out there." I explained._

_Everyone's eyes widened. _

_"But that would mean..." Ethan said. "That someone had tampered with it. That someone changed it."_

_"But only the school staff can get to those."' Layla said._

_"Who?" _

_"Why?"_

_Everyone was silent. _

_"We have to go tell her." I said, getting up._

_I was stopped by a strong arm. _

_"Warren. Do you think that's a good idea?"_

_"Of corse it's a good idea to tell her she's wanted for... Something."_

_"How can she prepare anymore than she is now at the state she's in? She wouldn't be prepared as equally if you were to tell her or not."_

_I creased my brows._

_"She has a right to know."_

_"But would she want to know?"_

_"Will's right. Imagine how upset she would be. We're guessing they want her for something she doesn't know the answer to, she doesn't remember the answer to. I don't think... If she found out, she would be happy for a while." Layla thought. _

_"But what if she would want to know. I would want to." I said._

_They all stayed silent. I imagined how she would be if we told her. They were right that she would be upset. Very. But, you can't know if she wants to know without asking her. And you can't do that without telling her._

_I flopped back in the chair in retreat._

_"Fine. What do we do then?"_

_There was a pause._

_"We stay with her. Make sure we're there if it happens again." Will planned._

_"Okay. That could be okay. She lives with Layla temporarily. When shes not with Layla, she's with us at school, right?" Magenta asked._

_"But what about when she moves back to the orphanage?" _

_"She'll be healed then."_

_"So then we'll tell her; when she gets better."_

_"Okay. So until she gets better, stick to her like glue." Will summarised._

_"So what do we tell her about tonight?" Magenta asked. _

_Everyone looked at Layla._

_"What did you say to her?"_

_She blushed._

_"That there was food poisoning." She said quietly. "I know it wasn't one of my best lies but I'm not a good liar without all that pressure."_

_"It doesn't matter. We just have to outlast her curiosity, keep telling her that's why she couldn't come."_

_"Yeah. And it's not like many of us could've done much of a better job. That girl is like a friggin lie detector on legs." _

* * *

Miya POV

That Monday I limped into math and sat at the back, Warren came in soon after.

"You're out the chair." he greeted with a slight grin.

"Peace? What happened at dinner?" I asked.

His brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Ethan's dinner. Why couldn't I go?"

He didn't hesitate to answer. "Food poisoning."

I threw up my hands. "Ugh. I thought you would be smart enough to realise how bad a lie that is. And how stupid it is to tell it to someone who can name all the signs of a lie."

He smirked a bit.

"So are you going to tell me?"

He paused and his smirk grew a bit. "What do you mean? I already told you."

He knew I knew he was lying. He was grinning just to tell me he knew but he wasn't telling me anyway. I groaned.

"Are any of you ever going to tell me?" I moaned.

I was getting very impatient with this subject.

"Yes."

My face lit up; I hadn't got through anyone this far yet.

"Maybe."

I furrowed my brows.

"No."

I narrowed my eyes at him and slapped his arm.

He smirked cheekily.

Everyone greeted us when we got to lunch.

"Good to see you're on your legs again!"

I sat down in my usual seat and shovelled food into my mouth.

"Are you okay Miya?" Layla asked.

I ignored the question and continued eating.

"She's ignoring us until we tell her what happened on Friday." Warren explained.

"We already did." Magenta said.

"Yeah. We told you, food poisoning. We didn't even eat any. We ordered and - before the food came- word got round that it was bad. So we left."

"Fine. What did you do for the other two hours then?" I accused. "It didn't take two hours to cook. What did you do after you left?" They all shared glances with each other. "Or did you not plan you're lie that far?"

They all stayed silent.

"Are you guys going to tell me?" I asked.

"We already have." Zach insisted.

I rolled my eyes and let out a large sigh. I could see Warren was suppressing a laugh.

If they weren't going to tell me, I was going to find out myself.

Warren and I were walking to math, it was only when I could see the classroom door that I realised he wasn't in my math class.

"Warren. You're going the wrong way."

"No. I'm going the longer way. I wanted a walk." He said.

When I got to the door, he looked uncertain about leaving me before I went into the classroom.

I sat at the back while Mr. Anson was handing out math worksheets.

"You're looking well." He said when he came to give me my sheet. "Feeling better now you're out of the chair?"

"Uh. I guess." That was an understatement but I didn't like having conversations with him.

It was only then that I realised all Mr. Anson had done was been nice. It was just strange he asked me questions he wouldn't ask other students, but that's not what I didn't like about him. There was something… _scary_ about him. Something that scared me.

When I had finished the worksheet before anyone else, I pulled out my sketchbook that I hadn't drawn in for a while. I hadn't really touched it since I reached my capability curb.

I was so involved in my drawing that I jumped when the bell went off. When I gathered my stuff, I noticed Warren was already outside, waiting to walk with me to Save the Citizen.

"Do you really not think he's _slightly_… Does he not feel_ odd _to you. Even a bit?" I asked when we started walking to the gym.

He laughed.

"No. He's just a math teacher." He smirked.

It took me a while to get up the steps of bleacher's to the group with a bad leg and one arm. As soon as I sat down, Mag and Layla sat either side of me.

"So Miya." Layla grinned.

"Have you got a dress for the ball yet?" Mag finished for her.

"I'm not going."

"Why not?" Layla whined.

"Guys, it's a struggle to walk. I'm not sure how dancing will turn out." I said. "And I don't think it's my kind of thing."

"It's not all dancing. There's food and lots of chatting on the side." Layla insisted.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom." I said, getting up. They rose with me.

"We'll go with you."

"No. It's fine."

"No. It's okay. We'll come." Layla looked almost hopeful.

"I mean… I kind of just want to walk around alone for a bit."

"Oh… Okay." Magenta asked and looked at Layla who looked uncertain.

* * *

_Warren POV._

_As soon as Parker was out of ear shot, the group all leaned in to talk. _

_"Seriously. We're not doing a very good job of not letting her be alone." Zach said._

_"Okay. This has to be a one off." Will said. "The last time she's alone for a while, for her own good."_

_"But what if this happens again? What if she wants to be alone?" Magenta asked._

_Will thought for a second._

_"Well… we all don't want her to get taken, right? So I guess… we don't _let_ her be alone." He said._

_"What do you mean?" Layla asked._

_"One of us will follow her." Will said._

_I shook my head._

_"Un-uh. Not going to work." I said._

_"Why not?" Will asked. "We've all learnt how to do it."_

_It was part of the Sky High training; following. But what they were forgetting was that Parker had better training._

_"She's not exactly the type to be followed. She's the type to do the follo_wing._" I explained._

_"Well… Can you think of anything else?" Will asked._

_I shrugged._

_"Guys. I want to show you something." Ethan chimed in. He pulled out six pocket-sized devices out of his bag. "I made these. If you press the button, it'll send a signal to my phone saying where you are. And you'll only press it when Something's wrong. So if you guys are with her and… Yeah. You press the button and we'll be able to find you."_

_"What if you press the button. You have the phone so we won't be able to find you. Couldn't you link it up to all of our phones?" Magenta asked._

_He shook his head. "Not enough capacity."_

_"So we just make sure that you're not the one who's left with her."_

_He nodded._

* * *

Miya POV

You would think someone with a bad leg would take the shortest route possible. Not me. I felt like a walk. So I skipped the bathroom in the changing room (the closest) and went to a different one a few corridors down.

As I walked down them, I wondered why the group was trying to keep an eye on me al of a sudden. Well I guessed that's what they were doing since they all looked unsure whether it was a good idea to leave me or not. They didn't want me alone.

When I got to the bathroom, I gripped the sink and refilled my water bottle from my bag. I grabbed a painkiller, swallowed it, and downed a few gulps of water.

I stared at my reflection for a bit. The bruises were all slowly fading. I wasn't exactly outstandingly-pretty. And I wasn't ugly or average either. I was somewhere in the middle; only noticeable to the one's who noticed.

I let go of the sink and started to walk out of the bathroom. When I got to the door, someone on the other side opened it and it hit me in the face. I fell – with surprisingly little pain - to the floor.

"Oh. Sorry about dat." An elderly janitor said as he came in.

He grabbed my crutch that had skidded across the floor and held out a hand to me. I took it and he hauled me up.

"Yer dat gurl dat was on the roof, weren't ya?" He asked, handing me my crutch.

"Oh. I guess." I smiled.

"Lucky yer got away, in't it." He said. "Lucky yer had that fire friend with ya."

"Yeah, I wouldn't have if he hadn't been there." I admitted.

"Well done anyways. And I'm sorry fer knockin' ya over." He smiled, showing off yellow and grey teeth.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it."

As I left, he reached out a hand to pull his trolley of cleaning supplies into the bathroom. It was only for a second, but long enough to see an emblem engraved into his watch.

* * *

When I got back to the gym, Save the Citizen was ending. I spotted Warren and started walking with him.

"Hey." I said. "Warren. I was wondering, you know how you saw that emblem on the roof? _Where_ did you see it on the roof? Was it on a shoe, a filing cabinet, a label in one of their ski masks?"

He furrowed his brows at me. "Why? Have you remembered where you've seen it?"

"No. But I thought that, if you told me, it might jog my memory." I lied.

He paused in thought.

"Are you weighing up whether you should lie to me or not, Peace?" I smirked; that was exactly what he was doing. His wondering-whether-he-should-lie-to-me just proved that the emblem probably had something to do with what they had been lying to me about that dinner.

"It was a tattoo on a wrist. Why?"

"So it wasn't like a shoe brand or something?" I furrowed my brows.

He shook his head.

* * *

_Layla POV_

_Mom made Miya and I dinner before she left to go to dinner with her colleagues._

_"I'm going to go for a walk." Miya said._

_"Oh cool. I kind of feel like one too." I said, rising from my chair._

_"Actually, Layla. Do you mind if I go by myself?"_

_I panicked. What was I meant to do?_

_"Oh. Ur… You sure?" I asked, trying to mask the hope and plea in my voice. It looked like she heard it anyway._

_"Yeah. I'll be fine. I'll be back in an hour or two." She said._

_"Mmhm." I mumbled._

_She smiled at me and grabbed her large coat._

_As soon as the door shut, I rushed over to my laptop in the living room. I fumbled with the keys hurriedly. Eventually I managed to make a multi-video chat with everyone. All the faces of the gang came up on the screen but Zach's who didn't answer. _

_"Hey."_

_"What's up?"_

_"Hi guys." I greeted quickly. "Um. I'm not sure what to do. Miya went out for a walk and didn't want me to go with her."_

_"Should someone follow her? Just to make sure?" Ethan asked uncertainly._

_"Are we taking this too far?" Warren asked._

_"No. Do you think it will be too far if she ends up kidnapped?" Will accused._

_Warren remained silent._

_"Where is she?" Magenta asked. "Or did she tell you where she was going?"_

_"Ur…" I went up to the window and lightly plied the curtains apart. I spotted her cross the street and into a park. "She's walking by the lake in Ella's Park." _

_"That's a Will and Warren job then. She's heading closer to you two." Ethan said._

_"You up for some tailing?" Will asked Warren, trying to hide his excitement. His intentions were serious but a part of him wanted to do what he had been learning about at school._

_Warren sighed. "It's not going to work."_

_"Sure it will. Meet you on the other side of the park, in that little alley." Will said and his picture vanished; signifying he had logged out. Closely followed by Warren's._

_"Bye guys." Magenta said to Ethan and I._

_"See you later."_

_"See ya."_

* * *

_Will POV_

_It was one of those day's you would think it could be summer; the grass seems greener and the sun shines brighter than the day before. There's no wind and no clouds to darken the day. But the moment you step, outside the thought vanishes as fast as it was made and you feel dumb for having thought of it at all. _

_So I arrived at the shadowed ally with the odd sensation of feeling warm and flushed from the power walk, but freezing from the weather at the same time. Warren was already there, only wearing his leather jacket, not bothered by the cold at all._

_"I bought these." I said proudly._

_I pulled out my parents earpieces I had grabbed before I had left from my coat pocket. Warren rolled his eyes and grabbed one._

_"Come on, Warren. What if we're not with her if they come again?" I said._

_"What if she see's us?" He asked._

_I tried to think of something smart but there wasn't anything smart to say. If I saw two of my friends following me, I probably would think it was… strange. Especially if I had only known them for two months._

_We both put the earpieces in and scanned the area for Miya._

_"Over there." Warren pointed at the other side of the lake. Miya was walking on a muddy path, partially hidden by the trees. "I'll go round and follow on her right. You go on the left." He said before vanishing in the shadow's of trees._

_I rubbed my hands together and pulled my hat lower – partially for disguise but mostly for warmth._

_We learnt all about espionage at school. Covert Operations was one of my favourite subjects. The disguises and the tactics were interesting to learn about. Being a hero isn't all about making a large entrance, sorting out the villain and making an equally stylish exit as the entrance. There are more operations that you have to lay-low in. You don't want to make a large entrance, you don't want to be seen. Invisible. _

_At Sky High you learn about spying. What spies do. The difference between supers and spies is that – obviously we have powers- but at the end of the day, supers get the paparazzi and they don't get paid. The next day we see our masked faces on the front of a newspaper before you go to your normal job. I'm not saying supers are better than spies – I think that it's even cooler they can do the same stuff without powers. Spies are a lot different to supers in lots of ways._

_So I admit that I was a bit excited about the idea of using the information we've been fed at school and taking it in to action. It's like learning French and finally going to France._

_I slipped into the shadows myself. The best way of blending in is to become the thing you're blending into. So I moved behind groups of teenagers and became a part of the small current of people doing their daily business. All the time keeping Miya in the corner of my eye and at a distance. _

_"_This isn't going to work_." I heard Warren's voice in my ear._

_"Yes it is. It's working fi-." I stopped speaking when Miya unexpectedly vanished into a crowed and went around the corner._

_"_You were saying?"_ Warren said._

_"We've got to go find her. You go into the crowed and I'll stay on the edge and try and spot her." I said._

_"_Don't you think you would fit in better in a crowed? You know, with that turd on your head."_ He said, talking about my hat._

_"Yeah. Okay. You stay on the outside, I'll go in."_

_And just like she did, I vanished into the depths of the crowd. It was a blur of people, hopeless trying to find a girl who fit in so well with them. It was then that I realised what Warren meant when he said that Miya isn't a follow-ee, she's a follow_er_. Miya was kind of small – but not too small. She was pretty but not stop-and-stare pretty. Her clothes were nice but not unusual or extravagant. She didn't stand out – which is a good thing. A key thing to be able to vanish with._

_I was so lost in all the bodies that had turned into a blur, I forgot Warren was still in my ear. So it startled me to hear him speak suddenly._

_"_Penguin Café. She's going in_." _

_I nodded – forgetting he couldn't see me. "Okay. Heading there now. Shall I go in? She might see me." I asked._

_"_Yeah. It's big and has lots of people. It'll be fine. Meet you there."

_I turned to the café on my right and wove my way through the endless supply of people. _

_Warren was right – it was busy. So busy I almost missed Miya limp into the disabled toilet._

_Warren came up behind me._

_"Where is she?" He asked._

_"Disabled toilet."_

_Almost ten minutes later and we're sat down at the back of the room drinking coffee._

_"I know girls take a while but she must be done by now." I said._

_"Maybe injured girls take longer than expected." Warren shrugged._

_I got up and walked to the toilet. As I was nearing it, the sign wasn't red, it was green._

_I knocked on the door, when there was no reply, I opened it slowly._

_"Uh. Warren." I said._

_"_Yeah?"_ His voice filled my ear._

_"She's not here."_

_"_What?!"

_"But the window's open. She's seen us."_

* * *

Miya POV

It's impossible to 'expect the unexpected'. You can't prepare yourself for something you won't think will happen, because you don't think of it. You buy a burglar alarm in fear of a robbery, you might not think it's going to happen but you buy it anyways. You can expect possibilities to a degree. But some things are so unexpected no one is prepared for them. And I was _certainly_ not expecting the situation at hand.

When I spotted Warren and Will I thought it was a bit… strange. I didn't really know what to think. But then I started to see it more as a game. Them following me defiantly had something to do with Friday. And I was going to find out what it was. The game was if they could stop me or not. I liked the challenge.

I started limping normally along the lake, entertaining myself watching them run from one shadow to the next. When I thought it was time to loose them I turned into the large street full of people. I thought of my destination, I had already gone past the turning. So I had to figure a way how to go back and keep them somewhere else.

I gave them enough time to turn around the corner and start looking for me again. I walked slowly up the steps of the Penguin Café so they would hopefully see me.

Assuming they were following, I walked even slower towards the disabled toilet to make sure they would see me go in.

I made sure I didn't lock the door behind me. I looked at the frosted window I had seen on my last visit to the café. It took me a while trying to push the rusty thing open, it obviously had only been there for light, not for ventilation. It swung open suddenly and made a large thud when it hit the wall. I stood on my tiptoes and looked out. It led to an empty back-ally with the restaurants trashcans. I smiled.

I pulled the toilet lid down and stood on it. I threw out my crutch and struggled to haul myself out with one arm. The jump was lower because the bathroom was below ground level so the drop was only a metre and a bit. My trousers were a bit dirty from the collected dust on the windowsill but other than that I came out mark-free.

With them out of the way I backtracked and went back into the path by the lake. Halfway down it, I turned of to the left and headed down a different high-street. It took me five minute's to walk to the end of it. I didn't know exactly where my destination was, I only knew its whereabouts. So I was relieved to find it was the last restaurant on the street.

_Poppin's Tapas Bar_

I zipped up my jacket and straightened my jeans to look slightly smarter. I strutted in with as much purpose as I could with a limp.

"HelloMiss. How many?" A waitress came up to me and asked.

I quickly decided that I looked to young to be a hygiene inspector of food critic or something.

"I'm not here to eat." I said with authority. "I came here for my job interview."

"Oh. I didn't know they were hiring." The waitress said. "And I did not know they were doing interviews today. I'll go check with Maggie to see what's happening." She smiled and walked off.

I acted impatient as I stood uncomfortably. The smiley waitress soon came back with a girl in her twenties with brown hair.

"Hello." Maggie outstretched her hand. "I'm Margret, the manager. People call me Maggie. You said you were here for a… job?" She asked.

I nodded slowly.

"Yes."

She made a gesture to follow her and led me to her desk. She went behind it and wiggled the mouse to wake the computer. I watched the keyboard as she typed in the password.

"Name?" She asked.

"Penelope Jackson."

"Sorry, this computer is a dinosaur. It takes forever." She apologised after a while.

"I'm sorry, I don't have anything under that name." Maggie said.

"What?" I asked quietly. "Are you sure?

"Ur. I could check again if you want?" She said sympathetically.

"You could check -." I stopped when I stumbled and nearly fell to the floor.

"Ohmigosh. Are you okay?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just this leg. It's hard to stay up sometimes." I lied.

"Do you want a seat?" She asked.

I nodded and we looked around in unison, the restaurant was full. _Bonus_.

"What did you want me to check and I'll take you into the back to sit and wait in there." She asked. I hid my smile.

"Oh, that online employer site. You must have an account?" I asked. Maggie nodded. "I'm sure your boss said he had put the date and information on there." I lied.

"Oh okay." She said, seeing the sense. "Come with me and you can wait in the staff room."

This time I couldn't help but smile; I didn't think it would be as easy as this.

She led me into a little backroom that was more like a closet it was so small. I watched carefully as she dialled the eight-digit code into the mechanical lock into the staff room.

"Here." She said, gesturing to a nice-looking armchair. "Be right back." She said, leaving.

I looked around and smiled when I saw the door in the corner of the room with a sign saying _security_. All I came here for was for the code to the door. I thought I would have to come back to do the second half of the job, but the security system was right there.

If I was going to do it all in one, I would have to have more time. I looked around and my eyes landed on the wifi box-thing. I grinned and shuffled over to it. I bend down and pulled out the main wire – not enough to not completely work, but enough for the internet to be painfully slow for Maggie to log into that online employer database.

I knew the code beeped when you pushed down a number, but I needed more warning if she was coming back. I grabbed an empty beer bottle on one of the coffee tables and balanced it on the door knob. If she tried to open the door, the bottle would fall and smash, warning me someone was coming in.

Happy with my delay and my warning, I walked over to the door that said _security_.

The door was also padlocked with the same mechanical lock as the staff lounge was. I recited the eight-digit number and the door buzzed open.

I wasn't surprised to find it empty; in films someone is always in the security office watching the security camera feed. In reality – there only there to look for something that has already happened. Like if they were burgled, they would have it all on film. No one watches the screens to see if there's _going _to be a robbery.

I walked inside and saw all the screens for the security camera's of the restaurant. I went over to the main computer and when it asked for the password – I remembered the one I had seen Maggie type into the computer at the front desk: _i84t7y63PTB_

I sighed in relief when it let me in.

I am no computer whizz – at all. Ask me to make a power point presentation, or even search the internet or something and I wouldn't be able to do it. So I was very happy that the system labelled everything. It wasn't very hard to find the video for the day and time I was looking for.

I played it and expected to find the gang walk in to the restaurant at any moment. When they didn't, I fast forwarded it a bit. They still hadn't entered the restaurant at 9:47 pm according to the video. And that was a time I knew they were there.

I watched back over the video slowly. It looked like a normal video of a restaurant. Nothing out of the ordinary – unless you looked very closely. There was a women sitting down at one of the tables with a man opposite her. She talked to him a bit and then slowly kissed him. It would've looked normal if I hadn't seen the same women doing the _exact_ same thing an hour ago. When I say 'exact' I mean _exact_, exact. It was the same video played over again.

Someone had looped the feed.

They had got the same clip and played it over again at the time the gang were meant to be in the restaurant. Someone had picked random clips and looped it over the original – hiding whatever actually_ did _happen that night.

What happened on Friday was a bigger deal than I thought it was.

**A/N So what are yor thoughts? Will Miya find out? What will she think of her friends if she does? And what is up with this friggin eblem?! And what's with Mr Anson's?**

**~Review Reply~**

**Vampireprincessofempire- ****_He he. So true... Thanks for reviewing! xxx_**

**Fishpuppy**_ - __**I know. I've got to shapern my cliffies. I'll make sure ther next chapter ends with an evil one. And thanks, I had fun writing it. Xxx**_

**Mallycorby- ****_Aww. Thank you so much! ANd I know - sorry about those spelling mistakes ( I have rather bad dyslexia). And yeah. Layla's mom is an empath and can talk to animals (pretty cool power ). Thanks for asking. If you're confused about anything else - feel free to ask! Xxx_**


	17. Gray

**A/N Hey. Sorry this is kind of short. I just thought it was a good place to end where it did. Anyways-**

**-Enjoy xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Gray**

My head zipped around at the beeping noise. I didn't hesitate to get out as fast as I could and take the bottle off the doorknob before it smashed – there was no need for that warning now I could hear the beeping of the code being typed in. I quickly put it on the floor when the door opened.

Door's must be attracted to my face or something because for the second time that day, I was on the wrong side of the door when someone opened it. The door whacked me in the face – again. But this time I kept my balance.

"Ohmiosh! I am _so_ sorry!" Maggie said.

If she wasn't blinded by her guilt for whacking me (even though it wasn't her fault) she might've seen something suspicious about my being behind the door, but she didn't. And I was thankful for it.

"It's okay. I'm fine." I insisted – resisting the urge to clutch my red nose.

"Are you sure? Do you want some ice or something?" I shook my head. "You sure? Okay. Well, I came to tell you the internet isn't working." She said apologetically.

"Oh. That's okay. I'll get my guys to talk to your guys and I'll come back another time." I brushed it away with my hand. "It'll be fine."

"Okay. I'll see you soon then." She smiled.

I was about to walk out when I thought of something.

"Actually – I know it's none of my business but could I ask you a quick question?" I knew it could be suspicious but she was embarrassed and sympathetic towards me so she wouldn't ask questions as to why I asked it. And my curiosity got the better of me.

"Yeah. Sure, shoot." She smiled.

"I was meant to come for an interview on Friday evening, but they had to move it to now. Do you know why?" I asked. "I was just curious."

Her facial expression changed. I couldn't quite read it though.

"No. I was told I could have a day off then. Sorry." She said. Then she looked up in thought. "I've been quite curious about that too."

Then she shook out of her trance and her face went back to its smiley self.

"Anyway, I'm sorry about the delay and hope to see you again in the future." She said professionally.

"Like wise."

* * *

The next day I came into our Espionage and Tactics class later than Warren did.

"Hey." I greeted.

"Hi."

"What you been up to?" I asked.

He raised a brow.

"Been chasing any mice recently?" I teased.

"No. Just one large rat, really."

I sucked air through my teeth "Whoa. Rats are ten times worse than mice. They just stun you with their amazing intelligence and looks, you can never quite catch up to their standards. Must've been hard."

"No. I just wasn't quite in the mood for chasing a rat. One sniff and I was practically running away."

"Well, but I guess if that rat was smart enough to get rid of you, you were free to do so."

"The rat didn't quite get _rid of_ the cats, only delayed them."

I laughed. "But, will the rat ever be told why it's being chased?"

"That's for the cats to know."

"And for the rat to find out?"

"No. Just for the cat's to know."

"But it's a pretty skilful, smart, alluring rat you're chasing here. Do you not think it might find out?"

"I don't think so."

"Maybe it has already."

"No it hasn't."

"Maybe it will."

"Not for now."

"Why?"

"That's for the cats to know."

I groaned.

"You're so annoying!"

He smirked cheekily. I whacked him on the arm.

"Ms. Parker! We do not tolerate that kind of behaviour in the classroom!" The teacher walking in ten minutes late said.

When the bell finally went I got up to leave with Warren. When we got to the door I stopped.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom really quickly."

I walked in the opposite direction to our lockers and he started to follow. I stopped.

"Oh please! I'm going to the bathroom. You're _not_ coming with me in there." I exclaimed. "I'm sure It'll be fine." I said sarcastically. "Whatever '_it_' is."

He looked up in thought. I brushed him away with my hand and made sure I watched him leave.

Time for mission part two.

As soon as he turned the corner I went down a completely different, empty hallway. Not toward any bathroom. Nor toward the cafeteria. I wound my way down corridor after corridor until I came to the math department. I walked slower here – scanning the room numbers. I stopped at room 206. A quick 360 told me no one could see me and I couldn't hear anyone.

The lock was a cheap filing-cabinet type. Designed only to keep students out – nothing more. I was about to sling my rucksack to zip open and fish out a tong I had made from an aluminium can as a lock pick. But then I saw the crack underneath the door. I had almost completely forgotten about my power.

I went over to put my crutch inside an open storage cupboard so no one would be suspicious seeing it in the hallway, then limped back to the door.

I took a deep breath; I technically wasn't aloud to use my powers yet, and I hadn't used them in a while. It took me a while to remember how. But eventually I could feel the power in front of my mind. I conjured up a picture of a spider and instantly started to shrink, slowly gaining the senses of the small creature.

As a spider – my leg and arm were horribly weak. If I caught them on anything, they would come off. But spider's didn't feel much pain in their limbs and the floor was flat right into the next room.

I scuttled with six legs (the other two dragging behind) under the door. The empty math classroom was extremely sharp and vivid yet slow and dreamy with my newly gained eyes. I quickly morphed into my normal form and went over to Mr. Anson's desk.

The drawer was locked – now I got my make-shift lock pick out of my backpack and my hairpin. After some fiddling the lock clicked open and I opened the drawer. It was full of different papers and files. I rummaged through hurriedly. At the very bottom was what I was looking for; the old math club picture.

I studied the photo again – closer than the last time I had seen it. The emblem on the arm was definitely the same one on the watch and on the roof. He looked happy with his arm over his friend. The girl was much prettier from what I remembered. The boy stood next to her looked just as happy as the guy who had his arm around him. I also noticed that he and the girl were holding hands. The guy with the black, miniature afro next to the emblem dude looked a bit crazy - but a funny crazy. He also scared me a little… A familiar feeling. The more I looked at him the more I felt like I had seen him before, the more I wanted to go hide.

I almost laughed when I realised who it was. Mr. Anson with an afro! That was-.

A noise.

I froze so I could hear better. Keys.

I quickly leapt into a closet which was much too small for me. I closed it silently and ignored the extremely uncomfortable position I was in.

I quickly remembered what Mr. Anson would be seeing. I put back all the files and papers, the drawer was shut but not locked. But the picture was still on the desk. I bit my lip and held my breath.

I heard his footsteps walk around the room. They became eerily slower as my heart rate rose. I took the breath I was holding – unable to keep it in any longer. My ear that was pressed against the door could feel the door subtly vibrate as he came closer.

Then all of a sudden the door flung open and I was falling to the floor.

Mr. Anson looked down at me and made a soft chuckle. I looked up and he was holding out a hand.

I took it to be polite and he hauled me up.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I think so. I- I think I was sitting on a compass." I said, spinning to try and see my butt.

He chuckled louder. I looked at him expectantly – ready to receive an angry-teacher-rant. But there wasn't one.

"What?" He asked why I was staring at him.

"How did you know I was in there?" I asked.

"Well it's the only hiding place in the room and the picture was on my desk."

"Oh."

He chuckled again. "Nearly there Ms. Parker. But not quite."

I looked at him confusedly. What does that mean?

"So, Ms. Parker. What did you want that was so important to break into my classroom for?" He asked, leaning against a desk.

"Oh. I- ur. I just wanted to see the picture you showed me again." I said quietly.

There was a flicker of emotion that wavered across his eyes. Hope?

"How come?" He asked just as quietly.

"I just… I don't know. I-." I trailed off.

"You what?"

"I recognised something."

_Shit! Why did I say that? But what else was I meant to say?_

His eyes widened, only slightly but slight enough to see.

"Recognised what?" He asked a tone lower.

I grabbed the picture to gain more time to think of something.

"Is this you?" I asked.

His face deflated and his eyes narrowed normally again.

"Yeah. That is me." He smiled.

"I thought you said the math club was before you came here." I said.

"No. Before I _worked_ here – is what I said." He corrected.

"Oh. Well I was just wondering and thought I would come see for myself."

"Oh. Alright then. Was there anything else?"

I shook my head and waited for him tell me I had detention.

"You can go now Ms. Parker." He pushed.

"Aren't you – aren't you going to tell me off or… something?" I couldn't believe I was encouraging him.

He made a knowing chuckle.

"Ah. Where would the human race be now if it weren't for curiosity?" He asked rhetorically. "It's what make's humans, humans."

I nodded slowly and turned on my heal toward the door.

"Actually. Mr. Anson?" I asked, spinning on my heal

I wanted as little time around him as possible but I needed to know something

"Yes?"

"About the picture."

He nodded, a glimmer returning to his eye.

"The guy. With his arm around the other guy."

His face turned passive, stone-like.

"What about him?"

The deeper tone shocked me.

"Uh- I just wondered who he was." I asked.

"Why?"

"I- I don't know. I just – I just…"

"He was an odd character. Eric Gray. What made you want to know?"

I shook my head.

"I don't know. Just wondering."

"Have you seen him before?"

"Ur- no."

"Good. You don't want to have."

"Why?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Never mind. It doesn't matter."

I nodded slowly again and limped out.

* * *

I had lunch quickly and went over to the library. I sat myself at one of the dusty computers and typed in_ Eric Gray_. As I pressed the search button I noticed someone move in the reflection.

"Come here, Zach." I called.

I had forgotten their whole follow-me-thing.

He hesitantly came out of the shadows.

"Uh. Yeah." He said guiltily.

"You're okay with computers, right? Well better than me."

"My dead grandmother is better than you."

I rolled my eyes.

"Well anyway, can you research this guy for me? I really have no idea how to use this."

"What guy?"

"Eric Gray?"

"Oh. I recognise that name." He said.

"You do? How?" I asked.

"Ur…" He looked up in thought, trying to remember. "He was in the schools Save the Citizen team a while back I think. His name is on a photo outside the boys' changing room."

"Do you know anything else about him?" I asked hopefully.

"No. Why?"

"I guess you'll find out if you help me research." I said tactfully.

He sighed and sat down at the computer. I went off in search of a school year book.

I hated computers. Technology moved too fast for me to keep up. I like doing things old-fashioned. I'd rather read a hard-copy map than reading off my phone (which is a Nokia brick thing). I like to go to the store to but my clothes – not online. And I prefer finding information about strangers I have never seen before for personal goals by looking them up in books and files than on Google. So I was glad Zach was there.

Ten minutes later I was still flipping through books and Zach was clicking on different links.

"Nothing. This guy doesn't exist. Well – by means of the internet."

"Here." I said.

Zach came up to look over my shoulder. The page the book was splayed out on presented an old image of Eric Gray. The teenaged boy had acne over his chin and forehead. He had a nose ring and a piercing on his ear cartilage. His slick, black hair was cut short and his muscles bulged out from his shirt. The boy looked menacing.

You couldn't see the wrist tattoo because the picture only showed half his body. But I was certain it was the same guy in the math picture.

My eye's shifted to the summarized biography.

_Name: Eric Julian Gray_

_Birth: June, 6__th__, 1974_

_Sky High Attendance: 1991-1993_

_Status: Hero_

_Power: Hypnotic_

_School Accomplishments: Longest Standing In Save the Citizen record. Save the Citizen team. Math club. Mad Science award._

_Life after Sky High:_

"I didn't know there was a Save the Citizen team." I said.

"It's only for juniors and seniors." Zach explained. Then after a silence asked, "Why is there nothing under 'life after Sky High'?"

"I don't know."

"But he's got to have a life after Sky High."

"Maybe he doesn't have a job." I suggested.

"Yeah, loads of people don't have jobs but they still have stuff there. Like 'married' or 'four children' and stuff like that. If that guy was homeless, it would say it."

"Maybe he's not done anything else."

"Maybe he died." Zach suggested.

I shook my head. "Other people have died." I said, flipping through the book. "It says their date of death and how."

"But he can't have just vanished. It would have said that too. He can't have nothing there."

"Unless… He was a hypnotic right?" I asked.

"Yeah. Hypnotise people into doing stuff."

"What if he didn't want to have anything there? He could have easily hypnotised the year book editor into 'accidently missing that part'."

"Why would he bother?" Zach asked.

"Because he doesn't want whatever he's doing – or done - to be known."

"That would explain why nothing came up on Google." Zach agreed. "But surely it would be _hell_ to track all the people who would put stuff with his name on the internet and hypnotise them to not do it."

I bit my lip and slowly nodded.

"Why _are_ we looking him up anyway?" He asked.

I avoided the question. "Could he do it through the internet? Like, send a message or something that would hypnotise people into not putting his name on?"

Zach shook his head. "He needs to have eye contact. I mean, you don't have to look into his eyes. He just has to be able to see yours." He explained. "But seriously, dude. Why are you looking him up?"

I sighed; there was no point in keeping it a secret from him. "You know that emblem Warren drew the other day?" Zach nodded. "He saw it on the roof. Well, I bumped into a janitor that had one on his watch, and I remembered I had seen it on this guy. I'm just trying to find the connections."

* * *

_Warren POV_

_We all had a free period after lunch so we watched all the older years file out of the cafeteria while we stayed seated – not needed anywhere. Looking at one the crowd spilling out of the doors, there was one neon-yellow blur swimming against the current of teens. He was moving purposefully until he finally got to the table._

_"Where's Parker?" I asked._

_"Library." He panted._

_"Who's with her?" Will asked._

_"I was. But someone else needs to – needs to take over. I've got something important, man."_

_Magenta got up to go to the library without a word. Zach took her place at the table._

_"What's so important?" Layla asked._

_"You know how there has to be someone in the school who's with… them. Someone working for them within the school." Zach started._

_We all nodded, knowing there had to be if Parker's schedule was changed at Chalk Talk._

_"Do you know who it is?" Ethan asked._

_"Not exactly." Zach shook his head. "You know that emblem, Warren? The one you drew?"_

_I nodded._

_"Well, she 'bumped' into a janitor that happened to have the same emblem on his watch. Coincidental, right?"_

_Everyone's brows furrowed._

_"So… your saying-." Layla started._

_"That this janitor is part of whatever group was on the roof?" Will finished._

_"And probably the restaurant?" Ethan said._

_Zach nodded slowly._

_"But how do we know? It could be for anything. Just because they're wearing the same pattern. Loads of people wear that Nike logo. Or Adidas. It could mean anything." Layla pointed._

_"She also remembered seeing it on a creepy guy – the one she's looking up at the library now. He's got nothing under 'life after Sky High' in his year book and he's a hypnosis. Miya thinks he might want to hide something, that he hypnotised the year book editor into leaving that part out. We also couldn't find anything about him on Google."_

_"So… it's just an assumption?" Ethan asked._

_"It's more than we have." Will said._

_"So what does this mean?" Layla asked. _

_"We just assumed there was someone working within the school. Now it's a more educated assumption, it seems more dangerous now." Ethan said._

_"So…" Will trailed off. "What should we do?"_

_There was a silence; everyone knew the answer but no on wanted to say it. So I did it for everyone._

_"We tell her."_

**A/N Ooh. So how is Miya going to react? How are they going to tell her?**

**~Review Reply~**

**Vampireprincessofempire- ****_he he. I guess you'll have to find out…xxxx_**


	18. Locked Out

**A/N Hey guys. **

**I said this in my A/N for my other Sky High fanfic but I'll repeat it:**

**I was thinking that when i'm done with this story and my other one, Soundless Clock - that I would make a better one based around what you like and dislike about my story (or stories if you've read both).**

**Eg: Warren or Lash or an OC male? Or no male at all? What you would like the OC's power to be? Attitude of OC? Prefered personality of OC? And stuff like that. Or it could be that you like Miya's personality compared to Cammie's or their background or the general plot.**

**Anything will help and all help will have an input.**

**So hopefully - it will be a cool one you all like... hopefully.**

**Anyway, I'd be really grateful.**

**(Btw, if you don't know what OC means already, it means original character) **

**Enjoy... xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Locked Out**

At lunch the next day I came and sat in my usual place.

"Is that tomorrow?" I asked, nodding at the poster advertising the valentines ball.

Layla nodded.

"So…. speaking of. Have you found what your going to wear?" Magenta asked.

"I told you. Im not going." I deadpanned.

"Miyaaaaa. You have to go! You can't miss one of the crucial parts of the semester!" Layla exclaimed.

"Yeah. Everyone's going to be talking about it and you'll feel left out unless you go." Magenta said.

"You get dragged into this Will?" I asked.

He grinned a bit in answer. Layla elbowed him.

Zach laughed.

"You got pulled into it too, Zach. You can't talk."

Now it was Magenta's turn to kick Will under the table.

"We were going to go last minute shopping tonight because Magenta hasn't got her shoes yet. You could come get a last minute dress?" Layla asked hopefully.

"Thanks Layla but I can't." I said, not lying.

"What are you doing?" Magenta questioned.

"Warrens helping me understand the last chapter of that blimmin' text book.!" I said, slightly excited.

The amount at which I was excited for finishing that textbook was much bigger than I would like to admit.

They all looked at Warren to make sure she was telling the truth. He nodded.

"Its true."

Layla visibly deflated.

"Come on. It'll be loads of fun. You don't have to dance the whole time."

"No. Im not falling for those puppy dog eyes this time Layla. Not working." I said, putting a hand up to cover Layla form my view and looking away so I wouldn't fall for it.

She slouched while letting out a sigh, like a kicked puppy.

The bell went and I walked crutch-in-hand to my next lesson with Warren.

"What did he say you were doing today?" I asked.

"Boomers evaluating our improvement of fighting skills." Warren answered.

"Yay. I get to miss it." I smiled. I never thought I would enjoy an aspect of being injured.

"I thought you liked fighting."

"I do. Just not in front of lots of people." I answered.

"Why?" He asked.

"Cause when you get as good as I am, it puts other people to shame and I'm not a bad person. I don't want people to feel bad." I teased.

He nudged me.

"Seriously. Why?" He pushed.

"If loads of people watch me, they know what they're expecting." I answered plainly.

He nodded. "Makes sense."

"Im the definition of sense - ah!" I wailed when he nudged me and I nearly went plummeting to the floor before I got my balance. I elbowed him. "Hey!"

"Your so cocky. You deserved it." He smirked and carried on walking.

"I am _not _cocky!" I said, hopping faster to catch up with him.

This made him smirk more. I sighed.

"Stop it." He said without looking at me.

"Stop what?" I asked.

"Biting your lip."

I hadn't realised I was. I un-bit my lip obediently.

He opened the door and I hopped into the gym.

A few hours later Layla opened the door to her house and I entered.

She prepared a very veggie meal that mainly consisted of salads she had made from herbs she grew the second before.

"Are you staying here for you study thing with Warren?"

"I- I don't thinks so. I think i'm going to his." I said uncertainly.

"Okay. Cool."

"When are you leaving for your shopping party?" I asked.

" Few minutes." She answered.

I nodded and bought my plate to the sink. I gave it a rinse and offered to wash Layla's. After finishing with the plates I grabbed my jacket.

"I'll see you later, Lay."

Obviously forgetting their little don't-leave-me-alone thing, Layla nodded. "See ya." She said sweetly.

I shut the door behind me and headed for a little detour. It felt nice having the cold air on my face as I walked around the empty park lit by street lamps.

When I eventually started to get too cold, I headed in the direction of Warren's house, hands in pockets.

Snow started to fall as I walked down the deserted streets. I was watching my feet as I broke the ice that was covering the puddles in potholes on the sidewalk.

I immaturely found it entertaining and went out of my way to find the next ice-puddle to stomp on. I eventually found myself zigzagging across the pavement to stomp on different ones. I was so absorbed in this I walked straight into someone.

"Sorry." I said and started to walk normally again, embarrassed at my childish performance before.

"Parker?"

I turned at the familiar voice.

"Warren?"

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To… your house?"

"We were meant to be going to yours. I mean Layla's." He said.

"Oh. I forgot. " I said, limping back up to him to walk the way I had just come.

"Why are you alone?" He asked, not even trying to hide the little pact the group made of not leaving me alone for an unknown reason.

"Layla forgot. I left before she remembered." I said.

He paused. "You know. We are actually doing this for a reason. You _could_ make it a bit easier for us."

"But what would be the fun in that?" I asked.

He paused again. "It's not a game, Parker." He said quietly.

"Then what _is _it?" I asked.

I watched his face. It looked like he was about to answer, he even opened his mouth a little bit. But it was quickly shut - against speaking.

I sighed in irritation and looked down at the pavement.

We shortly arrived at Layla's.

He got to the door before I did, I was still limping behind him.

"It's locked." He shook the door handle in irritation.

"Oh." I said.

He stepped back and sighed in annoyance.

"Wait. You see that shrub behind you?" I said.

He furrowed his brows at me and slowly turned around.

"Can you grab a really thin twig and make sure it's not dead so it doesn't snap easily?" I asked.

He shook his head to himself but did it anyway.

"Thanks. " I said when he handed it to me. "Now… could you…. could you turn around for a second?"

"What?" He asked.

"Could you turn around?"

"Why?"

"Because… Could you just do it for a second." I asked, feeling the blush creep to my face.

He took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

I unzipped my jacket, took it off. I slipped my shirt off my shoulder and unzipped the pocket I had made in my bra. I pulled out the miniature penknife I kept and zipped it back up.

"Okay. You can turn around now."

"Where did you get the penknife from?" He saiasked, looking at it in my hands.

"A little shop in the town I-."

"I mean just now?" He cut me off.

"Oh. I have one in-." I cleared my throat." I have one in every one of my bra's." I said quieter.

"Sorry?" He asked in disbelief.

"You heard me."

"Why do you keep them there?" He asked.

"People don't tend to pat you down there." I said.

I turned to the door - hiding the blush that crawled to my face.

"Why do you feel like you need a penknife everywhere?" He asked as I flipped open a part of the penknife and jammed it into the lock along with the twig.

"I don't know. I feel like I should have one just incase. You should be expecting these kinda things from me by now, Warren." I said. "You've known me long enough."

"The twigs not working." I said after a while of fiddling with the lock, throwing the twig on the floor.

I made a circular motion, he turned around so I could put my pocketknife back.

"I guess we're going to have to go to yours." I said, zipping my coat up.

" I can't." He said, turning back around.

"Why? Is your's locked too?" I asked.

"No."

"How come then?" I asked. He didn't answer. " Warren?"

"My mum wanted me out the house. She wanted to paint the house."

I looked at him quizzically.

"I - er. I'm allergic to the paint fumes. I have to wait until it's dry or i'll be sneezing fireballs in the house."

I giggled a bit at that; it was so uncharacteristic.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"I guess we'll have to wait for Layla to come back." He said.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_Parker sighed and put her crutch down on the floor. She then limped back to the house and put her back against it. Sliding down the wall until she was sitting on the wet floor._

_I sat down on the edge of a large plant pot. The snow around it instantly melted._

_"What else do you feel you should have 'just incase'?" I asked._

_She shrugged. "Money and water purification tablets."_

_"Where do you keep them?" I asked._

_She looked reluctant to telling me - like she hadn't told anyone. "The tablets are in-between the linings of my coat. The money's under my shoe sole."_

_"Why water purification tablets?" I asked._

_She shrugged again._

_"I don't know. I just feel like I should always have a few on me. Call me OCD I guess." She said. " Looks like I should add a lock pick to my collection though." She laughed._

_I laughed a bit too and looked up. The snow looked orange from the streets lamps' glow. The snow suddenly increased along with the wind. _

_"What about you?" She asked._

_I looked at her._

_"Do you have any obsessions?"_

_I thought for a second, people didn't often ask me direct questions. Especially people who i'd only known for a few months. They were usually scared of me. Parker wasn't though, I would hate it if she thought of me like that._

_"I don't like gas taps being on." _

_Parker giggled. "I g-guess your becoming a p-professional chef is out of the question then?" She chattered._

_She bought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them._

_"Are you cold?" I asked stupidly; of corse she was cold._

_She didn't answer and just lay her head on her knees._

_I got off my pot and moved to sit down next to her. She was about to stay in the same position until she realised how warm I was. She shuffled closer, into my side. I put my arm around her back so she would be warm on her other side and rose my temperature a couple degrees._

_"I want to be pyrokinestetic." She mumbled._

_"That sounds like the name of an antibiotic but you're getting closer." I smiled._

_"Whatever." _

_She put her head on my shoulder and shuffled closer when the wind got stronger._

_I watched the snow fall, hypnotised by the swirling white dots whizzing around in the air as the silence dragged out. I thought of when I was little - before I got my power - how excited I used to get when it snowed. I didn't think much about it now. There wasn't much to get excited about when you couldn't touch it._

_I looked down at Parker. Her eyes were shut and she wasn't shivering anymore. She looked younger than she was. Her cheeks were red from the cold and her lips were slightly parted for better breathing. She didn't look like someone who kept a penknife in her bra. _

_She didn't look like someone who thinks she would need a penknife everywhere she went. I hated not knowing why she thought she needed one. Why she could fight. I hated the person who put her in a situation that made someone think they had to teach all this stuff to her._

_She never mentioned all the scars she had on her hands and arms I had noticed throughout the time I had known her, but I knew there was more she hid under her clothing. What situation had she been in for that kind of stuff to have happened to her? She wasn't naive, and neither was I; it's tricky to get those kind of scars, even more so for them to have stayed visible for ten years._

_ And I hated that these creeps wanted her for something._

* * *

Miya POV

I didn't realise I was about to drift off. Actually - I kind of forgot my situation and who I was lying on before Warren spoke up.

"Parker, I've got something to tell you."

"Hmm?" I mumbled, opening my eyes.

I lifted my head off his shoulder so I could look at him.

"Actually… never mind." He said.

"What is it?" I asked.

He didn't reply, just watched the snow.

"Are you going to tell me?" I asked.

I gasped in realisation. "You were going to tell me. You were going to tell me about that Friday!"

His expression changed. I grinned. "Come on Warren. You can tell me. This has been dragging on way too long anyway."

He finally looked down at me. I looked into his eyes to see if he was going to tell me or if there was a barrier of stubbornness there.

"There's things you don't want to know, Parker." He said quietly.

"Warren. Please. Im not going to shut up until you tell me wha-"

I was cut off by Warren leaning closer to make the small gap between us even smaller until it was nothing. His lips brushed mine lightly and parted slowly. Completely in shock - I froze like an utter moron while he kissed me lightly, as if I might break if he did anything more.

When he pulled away. I just stared at him, completely unaware of what was going through my mind right then. I suddenly felt light headed.

"- Or that would do it too." I finished my sentence unconsciously.

Trust me to say something sarcastic without thinking about it in a situation like this.

A part of me knew that the kiss was a distraction from his slip-up of about to tell me about friday - and it worked. I was completely distracted.

I could do many things. I could speak seven languages (or at least seven I knew of). Pick the third-to-most hardest lock with a piece of aluminium can and a hair pin. Not to mention I could kill a man in several different ways. But something I did not know how to do (there's a lot more but that's not the point) - was how to deal with guys.

I'd been staring at him for too long. It was going to turn awkward any second now.

Before I knew what I was doing, my teenage hormones kicked in and I leaned toward him and kissed him back. He shifted his body to face me a bit more and pulled me closer toward him with his warm arm. I shuffled closer to try to get rid of the unwanted gap as his hands ran up my back, sending a shiver down my spine. The kiss got hungrier. His hand's ran into my hair.

For a few seconds - I forgot about everything wrong in my life. Absolutely nothing was on my mind. I couldn't feel the cold in my toes and legs. I was blinded by him. His warmth ran through me, eliminating any coherent thought on its way.

* * *

_Layla POV_

_Once Magenta had finally picked on some shoes, we all got a quick drink and a doughnut before we split up to leave. _

_Without a word, Will walked out with me in the direction of my house. I blushed a bit._

_"You excited for tomorrow?" Will asked._

_His hand found mine and our fingers intwined. We walked slowly along the sidewalk._

_"Hmm… What do you think?" I teased. _

_He smiled._

_" Do you actually want to go?" I asked._

_"If you're going." He replied._

_My blush was in full swing right then._

_"I wish Miya would go. She hasn't been to a Sky High dance before. She would love it… once she got there." I thought aloud._

_"Well, we've only been to one. And look how that turned out." He teased. Layla nudged him lightly. _

_"Maybe she will go to the next one." Will said._

_"She won't have a choice about the next one. Don't worry, she'll be there." I assured._

_Will laughed as we turned onto my street._

_"Maybe she'll -." Will started but stopped himself when I stopped walking._

_I saw Miya's shoe's from under one of the plants covering our porch. I covered my mouth._

_"Ohmigosh! I locked her out!" I panicked and started to walk faster to the house. _

_I was stopped by a strong arm who dragged me back._

_"Wait." Will whispered, putting a finger to his lips._

_He walked back a bit, taking Layla with him so she could look around one of the plant's at the scene going on. _

_I had to cover my mouth from squealing out in excitement and running up to Miya when I saw her and Warren making out._

_"Maybe we should go for a walk for a while, come back a bit later?" Will asked, grinning at the sight of his best friend._

_I nodded, smiling wildly, and followed him down the street._

_"Finally." I whispered._

_ He nodded. "It's about time."_

* * *

_Warren POV_

_Parker was asleep on my side with my arm around her by the time Layla and Will got back._

_"Oh my gosh! Were you guys locked out?" Layla exclaimed when she spotted us on the floor. "Are you okay?" She whispered when she noticed Parker was asleep._

_"She was a bit cold but we were good." I whispered, trying to explain why we were so close._

_Will and Layla shared a look with each other._

_Layla grabbed her keys and opened the door._

_"You need some help?" Will asked, nodding at Parker._

_I shook my head. "I got it."_

_ I turned a bit and put an arm under her knees - careful with her bad one - and the other arm under her back. I rose slowly and and took her into the house. _

_Layla led the way to the guest room upstairs and peeled away the duvet so I could put her on the bed. Layla took off her shoes and put the duvet back over her._

_We went back downstairs._

_"So… Did you tell her?" Will asked._

_"Tell her what?" I asked._

_"About… the restaurant and… stuff."_

_"Oh. Er… not exactly." I said scratching the back of my neck._

_"I thought so. If you had I would be surprised if she fell asleep on you." Layla said._

_I grinned a bit at that._

_" So when are we going to tell her?" Will asked._

_I shrugged. "I don't know. I tried… it just didn't seem like a good time. But, I don't really think there's going to be a 'good' time."_

_Silence followed._

_"How was your study session?" Will asked._

_"It was good. I mean, well, we didn't get round to studying."_

_Will and Layla exchanged a glance again._

_"Fun?" Will asked._

_"Yeah. I guess." I said uncertainly, why was he asking?_

_This time when they looked at each other, they locked eyes and began to go red in the face._

_"What?" I asked._

_They both let out the laughter they were trying to hold in._

_I sighed. _

_"Sorry, man. We were walking past and you were all over each other." Will explained._

_"Does this mean you're going to the dance tomorrow?" Layla asked hopefully._

_I cringed; I really hated dances. _

_"Lay, calm down. " Will said smoothly._

_"Sorry. I just want to get you guys to go to this dance." She explained. " It would be even better if you went together..." She muttered to herself._

_"What happened after we left?" Will asked._

_"Well… when did you leave?" I asked._

_"Ur… you were making out."_

_"That doesn't give me much of a clue." I said. "Well, she fell asleep is what happened after." I said, stating the obvious._

_"Did you not say anything after?" Layla asked._

_I shook my head._

_"So who made the first move?" She asked._

_I looked at her._

_"Sorry. I'll save that for my conversation with Miya." She took back._

**A/N. Just a reminder of my A/N at the top. Send in what you would like out of another fanfic from me xx**

**~Review Reply~**

**vampireprincessofempire - He he. Sorry that it's not until the next chapter. But I promise it is in the next chapter. But I hope you enjoyed this one! Thanks for R&R-ing. Xxxx**


	19. Truth

**A/N Hey guys. I want to ask something of you. Do you think you could tell me if how I'm writing her emotions suck. Or if their 'romantic' bits are seriously crap. I would just like to know so I can do it better later.**

**Enjoy... xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Truth**

"Miya."

My body shook.

"Miya?" another whisper.

"Why is it that every time someone's waking someone up, they always whisper?" I mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Six thirty."

"Why is it six thirty?" I asked.

"Because watch's aren't capable of lying."

"I beg to differ."

I grunted and rolled over to face one of my best friends.

"So why are we up at a painful hour to even think about?" I mumbled.

"Because we need to talk." She said, leaning over and turning my beside lamp on.

"It burns." I squirmed, covering my eyes.

She sat down on the edge of my bed.

"So. Tell me everything." She said excitedly.

Deciding I probably wasn't going to get anymore sleep, I sat up and rubbed my eyes to wake them up.

"Sorry. I don't have the answer to that one." I teased sleepily, moving my pillow so I could sit up more comfortably.

She rolled her eyes."You know what I mean."

"I do, but I don't know what you want me to tell you everything about." I said.

"About last night."

"I don't know. I was asleep."

"Miya. You know what I mean."

"No, I really don't. Please enlighten me." I said.

"About you and Warren." She said.

"Huh?"

The previous night's events washed over me like a tornado. How did I forget about that? Oh wait - it was _six thirty__**.**_

"Oh. That." A slight blush made it's way to my cheeks.

The second thought that occurred to me was how she knew and how much she knew.

"We were locked out." I said simply.

"And…"

"And…. What do you know?"

"Oh, only that you guys were making out."

My blush came back full swing.

"How? Did Warren tell you?" I said a tine higher.

"No. We were walking past."

"But you came back later so-…. did you just leave us?" I asked.

She grinned mischievously.

"Layla! I could've got frostbite or something." I exclaimed - thinking about how cold my feet were.

"It looked like Warren was doing a pretty good job of keeping you warm." She grinned.

"Who's 'we'? You said we were walking past."

"Will and I."

"So the other's don't know?"

She shook her head. I rubbed my face.

"When _did _you guys show up?" I asked.

"You had fallen asleep on him."

I tried to remember them showing up. "I don't remember being woken up." I said, racking my brain for the missing memory.

She laughed. "You weren't."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He carried you up here."

My eyes widened and my already-full blush somehow deepened.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked.

"Because it was cute." She grinned mischievously again.

For a sweet-looking hippie, she could be evil.

"Do you know what's even cuter though?" She paused for dramatic purposes. "That it happened the night before valentines day."

* * *

**Texts.**

**Will. 08:09 am: Warren? I was thinking bout 2night.**

**Warren .08:10 am: What about it?**

**Will. 08:10 am: U know how Miya can't b left alone?**

**Warren. 08:12 am: Yeah.**

**Will. 08:12 am: Well, she's going 2 b if she doesn't come 2night.**

**Warren. 08:15 am: What r u getting at?**

**Will. 08:15 am: U need to ask her so she'll come and b with all of us.**

**Warren. 08:25 am: Layla put u up to this didn't she?**

**Will. 08:27 am: Maybe. But it makes sense. She can't b alone, and she will b if she doesn't come. And after last night, your possibly one of the only thing that will make her think twice about going.**

* * *

Miya POV

Walking into school that day was like walking into a film. It was the complete stereotypical hysterical-girls-who-cant-wait-or-they-might-explode. Well, add a few superpowers and you've got the whole picture.

"Wow." I said to Layla.

"I told you. Everyone get's really excited about it." Layla said.

"I can see." I said, staring at the scene of the front of the school with frantic girls (and in some cases boys) running about the place with massive smiles on their faces. It reminded me of the chaos inside of a wasps nest after you've shaken it vigorously.

The bell rang and everyone slowly poured into the school, continuing the hysteria in the halls.

There were so many excited teens running about that I was quite literally knocked off my feet - twice. If Magenta hadn't steadied me I would be on the floor.

"What do you have?" Layla asked as we reached our lockers.

"Mad Science."

She grabbed my Mad Science folder out of my locker and went with me to the classroom since I didn't have any free hands to carry it with.

"See you at lunch." She said once I had sat down and she'd put the file on my table.

She bumped into Warren on her way out.

'Hi." He said when he came and sat down where he usually sat.

I internally squirmed at how awkward this could possibly turn out to be.

"Hey." I greeted - trying my best to make it as un-awkward as possible.

"How did you sleep?" He asked.

"Good. Was the paint dry when you got back?" I asked.

He laughed.

Medulla walked up to us.

"Ah. Ms .Parker. Did you finish the book?" He asked.

"Yeah!' I said, genuinely forgetting I hadn't "Oh, wait. No. I didn't"

He tutted. "And why not?"

"I er… I got distracted.

He tutted again and muttered something under his breath as he turned back to start the class.

"It's a little unfair blaming that on me." Warren smirked, referring to himself as the 'distraction'.

"I was talking about getting locked out and having to wait in minus degrees, moron." I elbowed him through my sling.

"Ms. Parker. I'm trying to start the lesson." Medulla called.

"Sorry." I called back.

Warren snickered quietly. I bit my lip and restrained myself from hitting him again, I just opened my notebook and copied what Medulla was writing on the board.

A few minutes later he slid a piece of paper on to my book. I looked at it and then at him. I didn't take Warren as the kind of person that would pass notes. But I opened the little note his handwriting was scribbled all over anyway.

**Do you want to go tonight?**

My teenage-girl subconscious had a little panic attack, but I pushed my coherent side to come out on top and furrowed my brows; Warren didn't want to go. He said so yester- then it hit me.

**You're just telling me that I'm going, right? **I scribbled in my appalling hand writing (I was writing with my wrong hand, my other hand was still in it's sling) and handed it to him.

He passed it back: **What do you mean?**

**Well, i'd be alone if I didn't go, right? You guys won't let me not go now. **I wrote back.

**Basically.**

I smiled. The ball would actually be a convenient time to do mission part three.

I sighed. **Btw. We haven't finished that conversation you interrupted last night. **

It took him longer to write back. **I know.**

* * *

That evening when I got back to Layla's house, she started freaking.

"What are you going to wear? I've got some stuff you could borrow."

"Layla, your taller than me." I summarised.

"I could call Magenta."

"She's smaller than me."

Layla sighed.

"Couldn't I just go in like a summer dress or something?" I cringed as I said 'summer dress' and looked out at the snow. Why did this dance have to be in the winter?

Layla looked disgusted. "No. You can't."

"Well what else am I-." I started

"What about Bella? She's about the same height." She cut me off.

Layla smiled, agreeing with herself, she grabbed my arm and headed back for the door we just came out of.

"Lets go."

When we got to the orphanage, everyone was watching something in the lounge.

"Bella?" I called, spotting her surrounded by little children.

I smiled. She probably preferred me gone in the sense that she could give more attention to more children.

"Miya?" She looked around for me in the thick wall of children. "Hey!" She said when she spotted me in the doorway.

People followed her gaze.

"Miyaaaaa!" One of them said, gaining attention of others. And soon the tv didn't have many eyes watching it.

"Miya. Are you okay? Bella said that you were - that you were - that you were coming back later because you had an ouchy foot and an - and an ouchy arm." A five year old, Georgie said. I always thought it was adorable when little people repeated themselves.

"Well, _duh_." A seven year old said, gesturing to my crutch and sling.

"What happened?" A twelve year-year-old asked.

"I was-" My cover for the situation was that I was hit by a car - that's what Bella thought. But I didn't want to scare them. And considering the majority of the audiences' age-range was from four to twelve, I thought it was probably best if I did lie-over-my-current lie to them. " - riding on a bicycle. I hit a short wall and fell over it."

Some of the little children winced.

Bella slowly got up and carefully placed the sleeping toddler she was carrying onto the sofa.

"I'll see you guys soon." I told everyone before I went into the lobby with Layla and Bella.

There was a series of goodbye's

"How are you?" Bella asked when we were out of earshot. "You haven't come to visit in ages. When are you coming back?" She smiled.

"Soon." I answered.

"Did you need anything?" She asked.

"Er… yeah." I started.

"She needs a dress." Layla finished.

Bella grew a large grin.

"Who is it?" She looked at me knowingly. "I bet ten dollars it's that guy in the leather."

Before I could answer Layla nodded with the same grin.

"Well, you came to the right girl." She said excitedly and ran up the familiar stairs.

* * *

"Layla. Seriously. Is all this really necessary?" I asked, standing outside the school.

"Yes. All of it." Layla smiled.

"I'm so overdressed." I muttered to myself.

"You are not! Wait till we get there. You'll see." She assured.

"It's so cold." I moaned at my bare arms.

I was glad my legs weren't bare. I had insisted on tights - it was the only input I had on my outfit, well was _aloud _to have on my outfit.

I had refused on letting people see my legs. My legs were fine at the bottom, but in a dress like this you could see above my knees and that meant you would be able to see the marks I had done such a good job at hiding. They were all subtle and faded now, but still visible.

"Stop complaining. The sooner we get in there the sooner it will be warmer." Layla said.

I started to limp to the entrance - and yes, I still had my crutch. But it was also the first time my arm had been out it's sling.

I could hear the music booming through the walls of the gym as we walked down the empty halls to get there. Layla held opened the door for me so I could go in.

I was shocked at the sight.

There was red and white balloons filling as much wall space as they could. A large disco ball was slowly rotating on it's pivot on the ceiling, leaving little diamond-shaped lights moving round the room. And there was a mass of teenagers in the middle dancing (and a good portion of them on the sides making out). All the girls wore pretty dresses and the guys were in tux's. Layla was right - I was not overdressed compared to some.

I was wearing a plain, dark blue dress that flowed over my thighs. It was sort of tight at the top (which was good for my ribs) and loose at the bottom. Layla had worked a miracle with my eye makeup using black, silver and a tiny bit of blue - making my purple eyes stand out.

"Over there." Layla pointed to Magenta and Zach at one of the tables.

I followed her as she led me to them. Layla wore a beautiful green maxi dress. Magenta was wearing a shorter, purple laced one.

"Hey guys. Where are the others?" Layla asked as we approached them.

"They're on their way." Magenta said.

I took a seat and sat down, my leg getting tired.

"You look so pretty Miya." She enthused.

"Thanks, Mag. You too." I said.

"I'm serious." She said, noticing I didn't believe her.

I smiled at her.

"So. What does-" I was cut off when the three guys walked towards us.

"Hey guys." Will said.

"Hi." Ethan nodded.

I stared at Warren, not quite believing what I was seeing. Warren Peace… in a tux. I mean, I probably should've been expecting it - considering that that's what guys wear to things like this - but I quite stupidly did _not_.

I wasn't sure wether to tease him - because that's how I got around things like this, or not-think-and-stare-like-a-complete-idiot… which was what I was doing. I quickly turned around and grabbed a glass of… I didn't even know what was in it, I just needed something to do.

I winced when I heard Warren chuckle; he had noticed.

I started to down the drink. He came and sat down next to me.

"Happy valentines day." Will said to Layla and kissed her on the cheek.

I smiled as she blushed; they were really cute together. It surprised me to know they had only been going out for a semester and a half.

They left together.

Zach and Magenta looked at each other and went to go dance.

I finished my disgusting juice and put it down on the table

"You look nice, Parker."

"I could say the same for you too, Peace." I said, trying to act so much smoother than I felt right then.

"Your arm looks better." He said, acknowledging that I wasn't wearing a sling.

"Yeah. It's always a good sign when it's not blue anymore." I said.

He laughed and looked around. His gaze locked on something. I followed his eyes to see Will at another part of the gym.

"I'll be back in a second." He said, getting up to meet his friend.

"So Ethan. Did you come here with anybody?" I asked.

"Yeah. She's not here yet though-." He stopped himself. "There she is. I'll see you in a bit." He smiled at me and got up in pursuit of his date.

I looked around to locate everyone in the gym.

Magenta and Zach were dancing in the middle of the gym ( I giggled a bit at Zach's dancing). Will, Layla and Warren were talking at another end of the gym. Ethan was just walking away. This all summarised as a perfect time for the next part of my mission.

**Mission Phase Three aim and method (in order):**

**Leave when no one was watching as.**

**Do #1 unnoticed and as quickly as possible with a crutch**

**Got to the janitors closet.**

**Look around for anything that might help me with… anything.**

**Apply the rules from #2 whilst doing #4**

**Take/take a picture of anything I might find or not find.**

**Leave.**

**Do #7 under the rules of #2**

**Go back to the gym and sit back down as if I hadn't left.**

**Complete #9 on the same guideline as #2**

I grabbed my crutch and made a beeline for the closest door. I slipped out quietly and into the empty halls, leaving the music as a muffled thud vibrating through the walls.

It had taken some research to find out where the janitors cupboard was. By 'research', I mean following him a few times and seeing him go into the same cupboard. The actual research was trying to find what hours he worked, that was harder.

But he wasn't working now, that's why I was there.

I made my way around the maze of the dark hallways, the music and signs of any human fading further away. It was just my footsteps working through the halls.

When I finally reached the closet, the music was so distant you could barely hear it.

I did a 360 to make sure no one was there and twisted the handle. I wasn't surprised to find it was locked.

I reached for the bobby pin in my hair and set to work on the lock.

* * *

_Warren POV._

_"Speaking of her, where is she?" Layla asked._

_"I left her with Eth-." I stopped when I turned and neither of them were there._

_Looking around I noticed the closest door to where we were sitting just about to shut. By the looks of it - the others saw it too. _

_We all went to the door and went through quickly. I looked around at the different two different paths._

_"You guys go that way, I'll go this way." I said, starting to worry slightly._

_They nodded and went down a hall, I went down the other one._

_As I got further from the music, I could hear vague footsteps echoing in the halls. I was relieved it was only one pair, two or more and I would worry a bit. I followed what I heard, taking me further down different hallways. But the footsteps stopped eventually._

_I went down a random hallway, having no idea what one to go down now I couldn't hear the footsteps. I turned around a few corners before backtracking and going down a different one. _

_The third one I went down, I found her putting a hairpin back in her hair and just about to open a door that I could swear was a janitors cupboard._

_"Parker?"_

_She jumped at my voice and turned around._

_"What are you doing?" I asked, my worry turning into anger._

_"Er… going in here." She said quietly, realising it looked quite odd. "What are you doing?"_

_She reached for the door handle again and was about to open it._

_"Did you say it was a janitor with that emblem on his watch?" I asked, stopping her._

_"I did but not to you, to Zach. Who I'm guessing told you." She said._

_"And that's a janitor's closet I'm guessing?"_

_She nodded._

_I almost groaned with how stupid she was being._

_"Parker, don't go in there." I walked forward._

_"Why not?" She asked, turning the handle._

_I grabbed her arm and pulled her away. She tore it out of my grasp and started walking back to the door._

_"Parker." I said, grabbing her waist this time knowing it was a harder grasp to get out of._

_"Warren. Let me go. I'm just going to look around." She said, struggling against my arms._

_I held her tighter and pulled her back towards me and away from the door._

_"Why am I not aloud to go in there as well as not being aloud to be alone? What's a janitor got to do with my being baby-sitted by you lot?" She asked, her voice growing louder and faster in her frustration. "You only know about him because I told Zach anyway, so it can't possibly have anything to do with Ethan's dinner. The only connection he has to you is he has the same pattern on his watch that you saw on the roof." She said irritably. "Unless you saw it in the restaurant which I don't thi-…. Wait, did you?" She added._

_I shook my head truthfully. _

_She took a couple deep breath's, calming herself down. Neither of us said anything for a while._

_"My point is, why can't I go in? You don't even know why I'm going in there." She said, calmer now._

_"I don't need to." I answered._

_She lay her head on my chest in defeat. I tensed in shock at the action, but relaxed soon after. I hadn't realised how close I had pulled her toward me before._

_"You guys are doing a pretty good job of keeping this from me." She sighed into my jacket._

_I knew I should tell her then. But when I tried, nothing came out. No words came out, maybe because I couldn't think of how to put it. Or maybe because I didn't want to ruin the moment, and I was pretty sure that would do the job pretty quickly. Either way, I said nothing._

_I stood there, the movement of her rhythmic inhaling and exhaling calming me. My mind went completely blank for the minute or two we stood there before she spoke up._

_"Do you want to go back?" She mumbled into my jacket._

_I shook my head subconsciously. She needed to know. Now. It was getting more dangerous if she was going to do things like walking right into the closet of a person who might potentially want to take her. And knowing that that same person worked at the school frightened me._

* * *

Miya POV

I was kinda grateful he shook his head. It was comfortable on his chest, warm. His heartbeat was soothing. .And - I knew they were originally there so I didn't try the door - but his arms around my waist was defiantly a plus.

But the teenage-girl side of me was wondering why he _did _shake his head.

"Parker?" He said.

I was so lost in thought it took me a while to hear it and understand what he said.

"Mhmm?" I mumbled.

He paused. I realised a little late that he wanted me take my head off his chest. I did and looked up at him.

He still didn't say anything.

"Yeah?" I pushed quietly.

"I need to tell you now." He almost forced the words out his mouth.

"Tell me? Oh, right."

I should've been excited. I should have felt accomplishment or something. But I didn't. I would have if I wasn't looking at his face, or listened to the words come out of his mouth. He looked upset. He sounded reluctant and like he wanted to tell me something I didn't want to know.

"But you've got to promise to listen to the whole thing, okay? You're not going to like it so just… give me time to explain after." He said.

I furrowed my brows. Was it that bad? But I nodded anyways.

I suddenly didn't want to know, at least not now. Even though he had been constantly telling me that I didn't want to know, it was only now when I was finally about to find out that I believed him.

"Actually… Warren." I hesitated. "You don't have to tell me. Do it later."

He shook his head slowly.

"I don't want to know." I was surprised at the words coming out of my mouth but they were true.

"You have to know."

"You've been keeping this from me for a while. Just make it a while longer." I tempted.

He looked away from me.

"You're not making this easy for me."

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on me, but I had a feeling it wasn't for the reason I would've liked. It was to make sure I stayed there and listened.

"Where to start…" He trailed off.

I didn't realise that that was actually a question for a while. "Poppins?" I helped.

"Okay. Oh yeah. Speaking of which, I forgot to ask; was that where you went when we were meant to be following you?" He asked.

I laughed a bit and nodded.

"What did you do there?"

"I… You probably don't want to know actually." I said.

"Yeah. I do."

I blushed a bit. "I impersonated a person for a job interview so I could hack into their security system and watch the footage of when you guys were there. But someone had tampered with it."

He laughed and shook his head in disbelief.

"You are ridiculous."

I smiled.

"Anyway. Hmm… Well we got there and they were expecting seven of us - like we booked. But you weren't there." He said. "We had our meal but Will and I thought there was something…funny going on." He paused. " We noticed that the customers all had - that they all had earpieces in."

My brows creased slightly. His eyes left mine again.

"So we got everyone to leave while Will and I payed. And when we tried to leave, some men came up and blocked our way. More came and we started fighting, ready to leave when we could. Thats when my phone went off. I chucked it to Layla and… I guess you know that part."

I didn't nod, I just stared at him. He looked at my eyes again.

"Before the fight, when we were all at the table, the waitress was asking after you, trying to delay us to see if you would come. And then… during the fight. I-." He hesitated. "I was held in a choke hold. I burnt him off but… He was asking me things."

My face was as readable as a rock.

"Asking what?" I asked, my tone completely neutral.

Warren looked away again.

"Warren." I said, getting him to look at me. "What was he asking?"

He paused. "Where is she?" He hesitated. "Where's the girl?" He said so quietly I almost missed it.

"Where's what gir-." I stopped myself mid-sentence.

It all clicked into place and seemed to hit me like an aimed tsunami. I actually stumbled back a bit, Warren didn't let me go further though.

Me? They wanted me. Someone wanted me. They attacked my friends to find me.

I thought of Maggie the manager, how she was mysteriously called off work that day. How someone had looped the camera's over the time of the attack. How my friends tried to not let me leave their sight. The little things with the red buttons they all carried around, a panic button?

I thought of how the gang looked at me like they were worried when I had come back from being alone. How worried Warren looked when he found me here. But why did he not want me to go into the closet? Why did the janitor scare him? The emblem? Why did the emblem scare him? He wasn't worried about it when he saw it on the roof…

"Chalk Talk too? The roof?" I managed to get the words out. "They didn't want Ashley, did they?"

He didn't answer. I felt my lip start to tremble and my eyes went blurry with water.

I heard the Will and Layla enter the hallway. I didn't notice though. Nor did I care.

All the emotion hit me next. My knees buckled. If Warren wasn't holding me I probably would've fell.

I was scared, terrified. The attack's were so organised. The restaurant. The roof. It was all so planned… for me. And there was no guns involved; they wanted me alive. And that thought scared me more than if they wanted me dead. But I didn't have anything. What could they possibly want from me?

Or was it something I _had_? Something I was? Something I couldn't remember? That made more sense, but I didn't like it. It was like I was wanted for someone else's doing.

All of this transferred to anger. It was much easier to be angry at someone than to listen to what I was being told. Easier to blame it on someone than believe what I was being told.

I looked up at Warren with flooded eyes.

"And you thought this was a good thing to keep from me? " I asked quietly. "That people wanted to _kidnap _me?" I got more upset as I said that out loud, more angry. "People want to kidnap me." I said, not quite believing it. "How could you keep something like that from me?!" I yelled.

"Parker. Calm down. Let me ex-."

The reasoning centres of my brain completely short circuited. "Calm down?! How can I 'CALM DOWN'? People want me and you didn't tell me! What kind of moron could _ever_ think that's a good idea?!" I yelled. "What made you think you had the right of keeping something like that away from me! You had NONE!"

"Parker-."

"Did you _want _me to get taken or something? Not letting me know is a pretty good way of it HAPPENING FASTER!" I yelled hysterically.

"You couldn't have prepared anymore than you are usually." He said calmly.

"Of corse I could've!" I yelled.

"How?"

"I could've… I could've-." I stopped when I realised how close I was still to him. I squirmed in his arms. "Warren let go of me."

Completely forgetting all the stuff I could do to get out of the hold, I put my hands on his chest to push him away from me but he tightened his grip on me further.

"Let go of me!" I shrieked, my tears blinding me.

"Parker. Please just listen." He tried.

I turned around so my back was to his chest and tried to pull his arms apart. I realised that was a stupid thing to do when he pulled me closer and tighter, trapping my arms.

I tried to drop to the floor and slip through his arms but he was holding me too tightly, I just ended up with my feet in the air.

"Warren! Put me down!" I kicked and wriggled around in his arms.

"Parker. Do you remember, you agreed you would let me finnish?" He said calmly.

This made me more angry.

I wriggled more but he was too strong. "Let me go!" I shrieked hysterically.

I made a last squirm before I remembered my power. I thought of a cat and shrunk instantly, slipping through his arms.

A cat's form is weaker than a human's so my arm and leg were much weaker. I kept my bad leg up as I ran on my other three, ignoring the ache from my wrist which was now a front paw.

I ran rather slowly for a cat and went around the corner.

"Miya!" I heard Layla yell after me.

"Parker!"

I ignored them. I tried to run faster and shake the tears out of my eyes. I ran into a locker at one point they were blinding me so much. So I was very lucky to have seen the open window. Jumping up onto the ledge, I heard Will say something once they had caught up enough to see me jump out and onto the school lawn.

"I got it." He said and flew out the window after me.

Running across the grass I transformed into a bird, not caring what type and ran off the edge of the school.

**A/N. So... that didn't end well, Warren.**

**So did she not seem angry? - is what I was really asking in my first A/N but I didn't want to give away that she got angry.**

**~Review Reply~**

**alilrose-****_He he. Finally! But I guess I just kind of ruined it. :( xxx_**

**Guest- ****_Yeah! Whoo! But as said above ^... sorry I kind of ruined it. Im glad you enjoyed it! xxx_**

**Vampireprincessofempire- ****_I did! Did you like it? And I'm glad you enjoyed the last one! xxx_**

**mallycorby- ****_That's a really good idea! Thanks. I really like the names too! xxx_**

**_Thanks for reviewing guys! Xxxx_**


	20. Just Ink

**A/N Hey. I've got a huge apology to make to all my followers. Thank you Guest for pointing it out. And sorry to all the people who have read my other chapters recently. My computer had been deleting some of my chapters (could have been my little sister as well…) so I had to keep re-posting them. That's why you've been getting loads of emails saying i've posted a new chapter. **

**Bill the 331'st had swapped places with Primary Colour for a while too and I hadn't noticed - thats where my recent readers come in.**

**So, im super sorry about that and it's all under control now, I think.**

**Anyway, here is the next chapter. Enjoy…xxxxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Just Ink**

I had heard once that the average lifespan of a phoenix is said to be a thousand years. When it's about to die, it builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs and ignites them into flames along with itself. Both bird and nest burn fiercely to ashes, from which it regenerates itself as a new, young phoenix.

It is said that when hurt it can heal itself, thus making them invincible. The tears of a phoenix could mend wounds of others.

However, while I was flying as the gold and scarlet mythical-fire-bird, I looked like one, I had the physical features of one, but I did _not_ feel like one.

I didn't feel invincible. I didn't feel immortal. I didn't feel as if I were made from fire on the inside. And my tears were _defiantly_ nothealing any wounds.

When I nose-dived off the edge of the school, I didn't move my wings. I just free-fell. Partly to gain speed to get rid of Will but mainly because I didn't have enough energy. I just needed to think.

Eventually I unraveled them to flap because instead of clearing the tears from my eyes - which I was hoping it would do - it was making them worse.

I entered a cloud to loose Will. It was cold and soaked me to the bone but I didn't care. Coming out and turning around revealed no sign of Will so I swooped down into the sleeping city below.

The first thing I found as I neared the ground was a park. I flapped my way to a tall tree and perched on a large branch near the top. I turned into my human form and rested my back against the thick trunk.

My fingers brushed away the salty water off my cheeks. I pulled my knees to my chest to lean my elbows on my knees and my face on my hands.

My body started shaking at the calming fury and my breath quivered.

I still couldn't quite believe what was happening. I couldn't… I couldn't be… _wanted_.

I screamed in frustration. Why did my life have so many unanswered questions? They - whoever '_they'_were - wanted me for something I couldn't even start to _try_ to think of. And they would go as far as hurting people and thoroughly planning to get it? To get _me?_

A long time after and I still hadn't moved. I was still in the same position but I wasn't crying anymore, there was nothing left. My breathing was still shaking.

I noticed someone walking close to the tree in the corner of my eye. They shone a torch up at me.

I looked down at the figure who had a dog close by and was holding an umbrella. Umbrella? I looked up at the sky and then down at my drenched body. When had it started to rain?

"You shouldn't be up there." A voice called.

A voice I recognised.

I narrowed my eyes through the dark at the small figure at the bottom of the tree; trying to see who it was.

"Clove?" I asked.

"Come on Miya." She called up to me as if she were saying I was late for dinner.

I blinked but turned into a squirrel anyway. I crawled down the trunk of the tree and morphed back when I reached the ground.

She extended the umbrella out toward me, an invite to walk under it with her. Not that it would do anything now that I was completely soaked but I limped under anyway.

She was wearing a bright yellow raincoat and two left boots, one purple and one orange.

"What happened to your other boots?" I asked.

"One was eaten and the other one's on exhibition in a museum in Japan." She said as if that happened to everyone's boots.

I blinked again.

"Why's it in a museum in Japan?" I asked.

"Sorry, Miya. That's between me and the Japanese government." She apologised genuinely.

"That's alright, Clove." I said, slightly taken aback.

We walked in silence through the park.

"Where are we going?" I asked, not really caring, I had nowhere I needed to be.

"Hmm… I haven't thought about that." She said.

"Then… why are you out here?" I asked.

"Well, Sam wanted a walk and I need to find my socks. So I thought I could walk him and find them." She explained… sort of.

I looked at the dog by her side, Sam. It was a really fluffy Newfoundland that was drooling a waterfall.

"You're trying to find your socks? In the rain? At-." I looked at my watch. " twelve thirty?" I asked, a slight smile coming to my face.

Note to self: When upset, spend a few seconds with Clove and you'll cheer up… almost instantly.

She nodded. "I like the rain. It empties the city. Same with the dark."

"So where are your socks?" I asked.

"My socks? They're around here somewhere." She said, looking around and shining her torch at random places in the park. "I guess if I want to find them, i'll have to choose if I want to do it in the dark or in the rain. Both at the same time is trickier." She thought to herself. "So why were you in a tree?" She asked casually.

"Oh. I was… thinking." Suddenly remembering why I was out here to begin with, I felt a gush of depression wash over me.

"I do that a lot." She nodded in understanding. "So where do you want to go, Miya?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"I should probably go back soon. Do you want a torch for your way home?" She asked, pulling a spare out of her pocket.

I shook my head. "It's okay. You keep it."

"What direction are you going?" She asked.

I pointed behind us for no particular reason.

"Oh. Okay. I'll see you at school then?" She said.

I nodded and turned around. "See you."

I walked down the path and debated on what to turn into. A phoenix felt good for my arm and leg because it healed it while I was in that form. But a crow was dark and common, hard to spot.

I decided on the crow and took off into the night.

I didn't know where I was going exactly until I saw the tall orphanage come into my vision.

Knowing the door would be locked (I couldn't be bothered with picking it) and that turning up outside my dorms' window would be weird, I flew around the back and landed at a window that was level with the floor and lead to the laundry. I happen to know it had been broken for a while.

I got down on my knees and pushed my feet through the window that flapped obediently open. Pushing the rest of body through, I landed in the hot, damp room.

Climbing up the stairs to the main lobby, all the lights were out so I felt free to walk out.

Using the banister to get up the stairs I eventually reached my dorm.

I opened the door and walked into the dark room full with the familiar snore of May.

I froze when I saw movement under the window, Bella's bed.

"Miya?" She whispered. "Is that you?"

"Yeah."

I saw her get out of her bed and walk toward me. She grabbed my arm and pulled me out the dorm, on the landing above the stairs so we wouldn't wake anyone up.

"You're freezing." She said. "And soaking. What were you doing? Are you okay?"

"I was in the rain and - " I stopped myself as I realised something. "Your dress! I'm so sorry." I said in a hushed exclaim. I felt so bad.

"It's fine. It's only water, washable." She said, brushing my guilt away with the back of her hand. "But how was your dance?

I couldn't help my anger come back to me. And it was obviously showing.

"Aw Miya. What happened?" She asked.

I didn't think she would take it well if I told her - and I didn't really feel like telling anyone at that time.

"I had a fight with Layla." I said, thinking it would explain why I was here and not at her house.

And the best lie's come from the truth… or part of it anyway.

She looked at me sympathetically and hugged me, even though I hadn't dried yet. She took my hand to lead me back into the bedroom and passed me a towel (all mine were at Layla's), I already had pyjamas.

But as I lay in my bed that night, I couldn't help thinking that my being there was putting everyone in the building in danger.

* * *

The next morning I had done a good job at hiding from the gang on the bus by hiding at the front and in the middle of the clutter of freshman sidekicks that were always there. I got off in the same clutter and limped my way to Languages.

Throughout the day I sat in the middle row of my classes, not at the back, not next to Warren. Lunch was trickier though. I looked around like a lost lamb, not knowing where to go and not wanting to be seen by the others.

They had tried to speak to me - especially Warren - but i'd just left. I know now that I wasn't actually mad at them. I was just taking it out on them because it was easier. And I was starting to realise it. I was starting to figure out that I wasn't actually angry at them - I was angry at the people who wanted to take me.

Before they could see me looking around, I spotted Clove walking to an empty table. I followed her and sat down just after she had.

"Hi. Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked.

She shook her head. I looked at her plate once I had sat down.

"I didn't know they had pears here." I said, turning around and looking at the food bar in search of a pear.

"They don't." She said, I looked back at her. "I got it from my apple tree at home."

"Ur… Clove. It's a pear." I said.

She nodded.

"Pears come from pear tree's… not apple trees." I explained.

"I know." She nodded. "I just couldn't decide on which one to plant in my garden. So I decided on a pear tree but naming it an apple tree so I could have both." She explained.

I nodded uncertainly - not quite understanding her logic but going along anyways.

"Are your injuries getting better?" She asked.

"Mhmm." I nodded happily. "I don't need my sling anymore, my ribs are better and I won't need my crutch for much longer…" I trailed off, looking for my crutch. "Speaking of, where is it?" I asked.

Thinking about it, I noticed I hadn't had it all morning.

"Didn't your friends have it?" She asked.

I looked over at them. They didn't have it but I now remembered I had left it with them the night before.

"Thanks Clove." I said.

"Did you have a fight?" She asked. I didn't reply. "That's too bad. Maybe you should talk to them."

I really didn't want to be talking about this right now. I looked around for another topic for conversation.

"I like your necklace. Is that a shark tooth?" I asked.

She shook her head. "My grandmothers."

I blinked.

"She was a shapeshifter too, but only into a tiger. This was her first tooth that came out." Clove explained.

"Thats… cute." I enthused. "Why do you where it on a chain?" I asked, thinking it must be a heavy necklace.

"It makes me feel closer to her." She shrugged and bit into her pear from an apple tree.

Soon after the bell rang and I got to Save the Citizen unnoticed by the gang. However, unfortunately, I did not have the same luck once I had sat down.

The gang sat above, next to and below me. Encasing Clove and I in a little circle.

"I get the feeling i'm in the middle of something." Clove spoke up. "Quite literally…" She trailed off, noticing she was in the centre of the little circle with me. "I'll see you later Miya."

"Wait, no Clove." I said, grabbing her arm.

I let go in shock when I saw a little elf the size of my forefinger on my arm. It pointed a finger at me.

"Go talk to them." It said in an insanely high-pitched voice.

I blinked, slightly alarmed.

It vanished. I looked up at Clove. She gave me a look and then walked over to the other end of the gym.

I looked down and drummed my fingers on my legs, biting my lip.

"Miya?" I heard Layla ask. "Please talk to us."

I didn't do anything. I didn't want to talk but knew I probably should. So I just kept watching my fingers drum rhythmically on my jeans, not saying no, not saying yes.

"We're so sorry." Magenta started. "We just didn't want to tell you because we didn't want to make you upset."

I was about to yell back. Explain all the reasons why it would have made me more upset if I had been taken. But I suppressed the urges. I didn't want to stay in a fight with my friends. I didn't want to still be angry.

"We thought you couldn't prepare yourself more than you are usually." Will added.

"We just thought you would be happier if you didn't know for as long as we could keep it from you." Layla explained.

"We -."

"Guys. I get it." I interrupted. "I was just upset. I'm not angry. Well… maybe a bit. But not nearly as much as I let on." I looked up at Warren. "Sorry I… lashed out." I said quietly.

He just looked at me.

"We bought you your crutch." Ethan enthused, grabbing it from behind him.

"It's okay. I don't need it anymore." I said.

"Oh. Did the doctor say-."

"No. I've just been doing fine without it." I explained.

Ethan looked disapprovingly. "You know, you shouldn't be doing that without your doctor saying so."

I giggled to myself.

A few hours later I was sat in room 206 for a math lesson. We did a quick 'surprise test' followed a lecture on algebra. I wasn't paying attention though. I was thinking of the math photo. Of the emblem. Of what Mr Anson knew. He knew more, I was sure of it. Something about that photo worried him.

The bell went and everyone poured out of the classroom to go home. Mr Anson was wiping the board when he turned around and saw me standing there, waiting for him.

"Oh. Ms. Parker. What can I do for you?" He asked, adjusting his glasses and putting the board rubber on the desk.

"Can I have a quick word?" I asked.

He stared at me for a bit. Then nodded and went to shut the door.

"Take a seat." He gestured.

I took the nearest chair and sat down opposite his desk.

"Okay. What would you like?" He asked.

I took a deep breath; it was the first time I had voluntarily talked to him.

"That photo." His expression changed. "What does that tattoo mean? Why is Eric someone who I 'don't want to have' met before?" I quoted from our last chat.

He paused, staring at me.

"What makes you want to know?" He asked.

I stared back at him, just as he had done before.

"What does the emblem mean?" I repeated.

He smiled a little. Then took off his glasses and rubbed his eye's with his hands.

"Eric isn't someone you should mess with."

"What did he do after he left Sky High? It said nothing in his yearbook."

He made a half-hearted laugh at the last sentence.

"Done some research? I should've guessed…" He trailed off.

"What did he do after he left?" I pushed.

He shook his head. "I don't know. Not many people do. I assume you must know he's a hypnotic now you've seen the yearbook." I nodded. "I wouldn't be so surprised there was nothing there then."

"Why is he bad then?" I asked.

He shut his eyes. "Not someone you should mess with Ms. Parker."

"What about his tattoo?" I asked.

"Just a tatto-." He stopped himself. "… Wait. Have you seen it before?"

I stared at him as I nodded. His eyes widened. A look crossed his face I would never suspect to cross any teachers I have met.

"What?" I asked.

"Where?" He asked quietly. "Where have you seen it?"

I was shocked at his tone and his expression, the combination shocked me further.

"Does it matter?" I asked.

He nodded. "Very."

I furrowed my brows at him. Why should he care?

"A janitor."

His eyes widened and his look deepened.

"Here?"

I nodded. He moved closer, leaning over his desk. Looking right at me.

"Miya. Don't go near him. Don't go near that emblem. Stay away from him or anyone else you see with it. Understand?" He looked frantic.

"No. I don't." I exclaimed. "I do not understand! What is it?" I asked. "What does it mean?"

He leaned back into his chair and looked down.

"I know that someone wants me." I said. He looked up. "And I know you know that. What I don't know is how you know and why they want me."

"Do they?" He asked in shock. "I thought it would take longer…" He muttered under his breath. "Did they try to… you know?" He asked.

I nodded. "And what do you mean they would take longer?" I asked.

"Take longer to find you…" He trailed off.

"Who's 'they'?" I asked.

He took out the math club photo from a drawer and pointed at the tattoo that was half on show, the other half covered by sleeve.

"That 'emblem', as you say, represents A.S.H; An organisation of people. Very bad people. Especially to you Ms. Parker."

"Why me?" I asked.

"They want something you have."

"What?"

He looked at me. "Do you really want to know?" He asked as if I was the largest moron he had ever met.

It was a stupid question. If I knew, A.S.H could find it from me. Even though I didn't know what it was, it didn't seem like such a good thing for them to have. So I shook my head.

"What's A.S.H stand for?" I asked.

"Their name has something to do with what they want from you, so it would be best if I don't tell you so you won't figure it out." He explained.

I nodded in understanding.

"How do you know any of this? Is it to do with the photo?" I asked, looking down at it.

He paused. "No. We were just friends." He said. "All of us." He added quietly, looking at all the teens in the photo.

"Who are the other two?" I asked.

He didn't reply

"Who are they?" I pushed.

He took off his glasses again and sighed.

"That's how you come in, Ms. Parker."

My eyes narrowed at him in confusion and slowly widened.

No. That couldn't be. That wasn't…. No. That wasn't…. It couldn't.

I looked down at the two teens. The girl with straight brown hair and a pretty bottle-like figure. The boy with curly brown hair and purple eyes I hadn't noticed before. I looked at their conjoined hands.

I thought of Mr. Anson and the talk we had before. The hope that was shown through his expression. How he was watching me when I first saw the photo. When I first saw…

I pushed the photo away.

"No. No that's not… That can't - It's not. Is it?"

I pulled the photo back and stared at it.

"They aren't until A.S.H have no interest in you anymore. But after that, they can be what they are to you."

"What… What do you mean?" I asked, my eyes going blurry.

"I mean, you don't know who they are. You have never seen them before. Only in an old ratty photo of a math club. To you, they are nothing until A.S.H don't need you. After that, you can think of them as… who they are."

"So… I can't know their names?" I asked, my eyes filling up with the salty water I had grown to hate.

He nodded. "I'll tell you everything once what they want is safe. They can force information out of you Ms. Parker. They can't force pictures out though, thats why I can tell you this. If I tell you their names or anything else about these two people and they can know it's defiantly you they want. Definitely you who **has** what they want."

I nodded in understanding. Not wanting to cry in front of my teacher/the-person-who-knows-more-about-me-than-I- do, I got up to leave.

"Thank you Mr. Anson… That's not your real name is it?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Another reason they could know it's definitely you is if they find out you know my name."

I nodded and walked straight out, not limping. I was too numb. I didn't even notice Warren beside me, or that he was saying my name until he stopped my shoulder.

"Parker?" He asked.

My mind was on another planet completely. I didn't answer, looking eye level at his shirt. He shook me and I looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" He asked when he saw my watery eyes.

I turned robotically around and started walking down the halls again. He must've noticed I had something in my hand because he tried to take it out. But I held it tighter and bought it to my chest.

"Parker? What happened in there?" He asked. "Parker?"

"I-." I started. "I…." I tried, but couldn't finish.

"Want to tell me at home?" He asked

I nodded.

He took my arm and led me down the hallways before I started to walk down the wrong ones.

In the living room of Layla's house, we both sat down on one of the sofa's. Layla was at Will's and her mom was at work.

"What happened?" He asked.

The waterworks had stopped by then but I was still in shock. I snapped myself into reality and tried to act as if I were in a lesser state of awe.

I couldn't tell him. Well, I could, but not everything. Everything would mean he would be in danger.

"The emblem." I forced out, finding something to say.

"What about it?" He asked when I hadn't said anything for a while.

"It's what we thought." I started, looking at him for the first time. " It represents an organisation."

"What organisation?" He asked.

"A.S.H."

"Ash? What does it do?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

"What's it stand for?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"That they're are definitely the one's that want me."

He looked down at my hand. I held the picture tighter.

"What is that?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

He smirked cheekily.

"Seriously Warren. It's nothing." I assured.

"Come on, Parker. Can I just have a look?"

I shook my head defiantly and held the folded photo tighter.

He couldn't see. Mr Anson was risking a lot by letting me see. I realised that now.

"What is it?" He asked.

"A photo." I said truthfully.

"What's in the photo?"

"…Ink?" I smiled cheekily.

"Ha ha. Funny. Now can I see."

I shook my head.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Now it's my turn to keep something from you." I said slyly.

"Yeah. And that ended so well for the both of us." He said dryly.

"I shouldn't even know about it. I don't even know much. And I'm not allowed to know anymore than I do." I said.

"Said who? Mr Anson?" I nodded. "I thought he creeped you out." He asked.

"He did. Still does. I just trust him now."

"Why?"

"Because I have to."

**A/N. Oooh. We've finally got somewhere with her past. But how does Mr Anson know so much? Why does he care so much about Miya? What do A.S.H want her for?**

**~Review reply~**

**vampireprincessofempire - Me too. And I probably wouldn't have forgiven them as easily as she had. I'm much too childish to do that. He he xxx**

**GiraffePanda2- No it did not go to well. And dang it i didn't think about that! That would have been good. Oh well. Thanks for reviewing! (btw giraffes and pandas are my favourite animals. I love your pen name!) xxx**

**Guest - Aw thanks! I'm so happy you liked it! Sorry for making even more questions then there were before… It's kind of turning into a mystery story. Thanks for reviewing! xxx**

**Guest- See first A/N (and are you the same guest as the one above? Just curious.) xxx**


	21. Codes

**A/N Hiya! Im just going to use this A/N to say sorry for the kind of delayed update (i've been really busy). And thank you so much to all my reviewers, followers and favouriters (is that a word? Probably not. Oh well). You all make me really happy! I get all the notifications on my phone. I get really happy to see people like it. So thanks**

**Anyway... Enjoy xx...!**

**Wild Ways**

**Codes**

Night shifts in hospitals are chaotic. All the drunks come in for the little (or big) incidents that happen. All the accidents that happen in the blinding darkness that comes when the sun goes down. Especially on a saturday.

That's why I chose that saturday night to have a little… visit.

The doctors ran about the place urgently, seeing to different patients. Calling some more in to be treated from the endless supply of wounded customers sitting and standing in the waiting rooms.

With all the chaos that came with a saturday night in the hospital, it wasn't too hard to slip quietly into the back door of the engaged building. It wasn't an arduous task to find a spare hospital gown and slip it on carefully, leaving my original clothing behind a cupboard to collect later.

Stepping out of the dark room into a blinding corridor, I worked myself down different hallways. Many doctors hurriedly passed, too busy and too stressed with all the waiting clients to take a second glance at me. I wasn't their problem. I wasn't their job.

So I slipped, unbothered, down different pathways leading to different medical destinations, unnoticed by anyone who could kick me out and unseen to anyone who might think I was somewhere I wasn't meant to be.

I soon arrived to the door I had come here for.

Immediately noticing the button, digital lock as I approached, I carried on walking right past the door, thinking it would be less suspicious than waiting around and trying to work it out. So, instead, I went to go hide in another room, an office judging by the desk and filing cabinets. It was empty and the lights were off. It also had a window facing the locked door I so badly wanted to get into.

I waited ten minutes, peering motionlessly through the blinds at the door until someone finally came along and punched in the password to open the door and entered. The nurse came out a few minutes later with a trailer full of meds, hurriedly walking back the way he'd come.

As soon as the nurse had stepped around the corner, I bolted for the rapidly shutting door, getting my foot in front before it could close. I got my hands around the gap between the door and the wall my foot had painfully provided and pulled the heavy door open.

I slipped into the room quickly and shut the door behind me. Turning around to look around revealed a gloomy-looking, blue room with endless amounts of equipment and chemicals in a spread out, organised clutter, filling almost every square-inch of floor (and in some cases, wall) it could.

I sighed in exhaustion: this was going to take a while.

I made my way to the first chemical cupboard and read all the labels. It would go from something of a large category, such as antibiotics, and get more detailed about the chemical you wanted. Going to alphabetically going through all the different antibiotics.

I looked along the large category labels until I found 'NUMBING'. I shrugged, thinking I wasn't going to get any better than that, and looked at all the smaller labels.

I didn't exactly know the name of what drug I was looking for, so looking at all the named 'numbing' drugs were useless. I couldn't know which was the one I was looking for. Slowly giving up, I glanced at the little labels aimlessly, not really looking anymore.

My gaze froze when I saw the word 'ridentem' on one of the labels.

I looked at the little vial of green liquid. I knew 'ridentem' meant 'laughing' in latin. This had to be it.

Grabbing the vial, I looked carefully around the room until my eye fell on a syringe box. Advancing towards the box to take a spare, empty syringe, I took one and went back to the door - not wanting to spend any longer there than I had to.

* * *

Dressed in my real clothes, on the street, in the rain, and fingering the vial and syringe inside my pocket, I wondered were I was going to do this. Not being able to go to my dorm (it wasn't so private with the six other girls that slept there) only left Layla's house to do it in. But I didn't want to do it at Layla's; if she caught me she would get suspicious.

As a result to my disappointing conclusion that I couldn't really think of anywhere to go, I found myself walking aimlessly through the park near the hospital.

I jumped in shock as my pocket started vibrating. I pulled out my brick phone and looked at the battered screen. Warren was calling. Declining, I slid it back into my jean pocket; I needed somewhere to do this and to do it without distraction.

Getting tired of the light rain, I just went to the orphanage, thinking it wasn't _perfect _but I couldn't think of anywhere better.

Once in the lobby, I went down the steps to the laundry room and went through the doors at the bottom, carefully shutting them behind me. The door didn't have a lock so I pulled a table in front of it. Not necessarily for not allowing people to come in, but to stop me from getting out.

I shrugged my backpack off my shoulder and unzipped it open.

The last time I was under the drug, I only thought of things of relevance to the time. For example (so I've been told), I only mentioned Finland when one of the doctors said they had to _'finnish'._ So I had grabbed some stuff earlier that would trigger off memories I wanted to know more about (hopefully).

I pulled out the math club photo and a picture of the A.S.H emblem I drew earlier to put on a table in front of me so I would see. Then I placed the two camera's in different places in the room so I could get more than one angle.

Sitting on a chair in front of the table, I filled the syringe with the green liquid in the vial and pulled up my shirt sleeve. Only noticing how big the needle was now, I flinched (I admit…I'm not a fan of needles). How much did I need to take anyway? Did that needle have to go in the whole way?

I tried to remember how much they had put in earlier. I did remember that the needle didn't feel like it went in the whole way (which was a relief). But I didn't see how much of the drug they had given me.

Deciding that half of the syringe should be enough (I didn't want to spend too long down there), I jabbed the needle into the vein in my arm.

* * *

My feet climbed the stairs as fast as they could with an injured knee.

My laptop wasn't at Layla's house because I hadn't packed it. I had left it in my dorm, hence why I was climbing up the stairs to it.

Finding it in my cupboard, I sat on the bed to place the laptop on my lap and plugged earphones into it. I grabbed the cameras from my backpack and took out the memory card to put into the laptop.

As I have mentioned before; Im not a computer whizz. But after some random clicking about, a window finally opened up showing me the film I had on the camera. Without hesitation, I double-clicked on it to play.

The screen showed a brunette walking away from the fixed camera in a laundry room to sit herself on a chair and inject herself unceremoniously with a syringe. She seemed to stay still, frozen, for a minute. I almost jumped in surprise at the random giggle that passed her lips unexpectedly. She seemed to keel over in laughter. I watched in shock at the hysterical girl in the dark room. I flinched as I realised that I was probably doing things like this the first time, when Warren was around.

She abruptly stopped as suddenly as she had started. Her eyes darted around the room cautiously, scanning every square inch until she started laughing quietly to herself again. She stood up and stumbled as she walked around the dank room. Bumping into the desk in front of her dizzily, she toppled over and fell on the ground, resulting in another fit of giggles. She only stopped when my phone vibrated on the table. She looked up sharply and grabbed the phone on the table from the floor.

Glaring at the phone confusedly with great amounts of intensity, she pressed the green button and shook it around.

I cringed, watching the girl eventually bring it to her ear.

"Waaaaren!" She chanted.

My stomach tightened at the silence from the reply.

"Nooo." She said, sounding guilty.

Then she burst out with a round of giggles into the phone.

"What am I doing? I'm doing…I'm sitting on a disgusting floor. And talking to yooooou." She waited as the reply came.

"Where am I? I'm in a world of washing!"…

"What's wrong!? What isn't wrong, Warren?" …

She pulled the phone away from her ear at the reply and put the microphone close to her lips.

"Grrrr." She growled into the phone.

Then she pulled it away and hung up.

I blinked and slowly hit my hand to my forehead. Why didn't I think of putting my phone _outside_the room before I injected myself.

Laying herself on the ground she giggled silently and started mumbling something to herself. Then pulled her arms over her head, back and forth, then her legs. Snow angels?

I laughed in shock watching myself be so odd. It was quite honestly the weirdest thing to watch yourself not be… you?

The girl hauled herself up using a table leg and sat on the chair. She shuffled it closer to the desk.

"School, school, school, school." She muttered to herself, leaning her elbows on the table.

I realised that I had thought I was in a lesson.

She turned to pull out a pencil form my rucksack and started to write something on the edge of the math photo. She suddenly froze. Looking down at the picture.

I hadn't noticed I was holding my breath as I watched the girl stare at the photo.

"Mom? Dad? What're you doing here?" She asked casually.

My stomach tightened at the words.

Her gaze flickered to the other picture I had laid on the desk earlier; the emblem. Her eyes widened.

She looked back down at the math photo and stuck her arm in the air.

I assumed I must still have thought I was in a classroom.

"Strontium, Chlorine, Selenium, Arsenic." She shouted at no one.

She urgently grabbed the pencil she had put on the desk and turned the picture of the emblem over so she could draw on the back.

She scribbled on the back of the picture for a few minutes. The camera couldn't see what she was drawing. I would have a look at the picture later.

Grabbing the math photo, she held it up high and looked into it.

"Strontium, point, Chlorine, Selenium, Arsenic." She told the picture.

"Minus Hydrogen, point, Radon, Scandium, Bismuth."

I raised an eyebrow at myself on the screen. Why was I shouting out random elements?

The girl then flopped onto the desk.

A few minutes later she stirred. I could see my normal self in my eyes as I turned and walked to the camera to switch it off.

I let out a large sigh; that wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.

Sliding the laptop off my legs and onto my bed, I grabbed my rucksack to pull out the picture of the drawn emblem. I flipped over the piece of paper to see what I had drawn on the other side.

I blinked, my eyes wide, and backed my head away a bit in shock.

Drawn in pencil on the back of the sheet was two incredibly detailed drawings. The page was split in half. One half (one picture) \ was of a range of rocky hills in the middle distance. In the foreground was a little stream and a tree next to it.

The second half of the page, the second drawing, was the outside of a cave. It was rocky around the edges and looked sandy at the ground to the entrance of the cave.

I stared at the pictures in awe. I'm okay at drawing, but I never did anything so detailed in the amount of time I had taken to do this in.

Letting out a deep sigh in wonder and confusion, I was startled at my phone vibrating in my pocket, _again._

Warren.

I reluctantly pressed the green button on my phone and pressed the device to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked quietly.

I was surprised he heard anything.

"Parker?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"Parker!"

I hesitated, slightly confused. "Ur, yeah?"

"What's up with you?" He asked irritatedly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What do I mean?! I mean what happened? That wasn't you earlier, was it?" He asked, voice raised.

"Ur…no. I guess not." I mumbled.

"Why didn't you answer any of my calls?" He asked angrily.

"Jeez. You sound like an over protective boyf-." I stopped myself before I could finish my sentence. I winced at what I was about to have said, a slight blush forming on my cheeks. " I was busy."

"With what?"

"Stuff."

"With who?"

I remained silent.

"Parker! This isn't a game! You can't go off by yourself!" He shouted, sounding angry from his worry.

"I'm sorry. I just…" I trailed off.

"What were you doing?" He asked, calming down a bit.

"I…" I trailed off again, not sure how to finnish my sentence. I couldn't lie to Warren. Not because I wouldn't, but because I actually _couldn't._ He would know.

He waited for a reply.

"I… was at the orphanage."

He waited for me to carry on.

"And… was in the laundry room…" I added, unsure what else to add.

"So it was you earlier." He interrupted, thinking of the 'world of washing' I had mentioned.

"What?"

"You said-." He stopped himself. "Just come over. I have some questions."

I let out a large sigh. "Fine." I grumbled into the phone and hung up.

* * *

I knocked on his door a while later. I heard his footsteps come to the door before it opened.

Greeting him, I stepped inside, thankful to get out of the cold.

"So. Questions?" I asked as I sat myself down on a sofa in the living room.

He nodded. "Okay. First." He thought for a second. " What was up with the first phone call you answered?"

I shifted, getting more comfortable. "Can I just say something before I answer?" I paused. " I would just like to thank you for this." I said gesturing to his living room. "Much nicer than being shoved in an empty classroom to be questioned." I said, tinted with sarcasm.

He smirked. "Thanks. I try my best to please."

I giggled a bit.

"And the answer…" I paused. "I was, ur… tired and-."

He cut me off. "Start again. And don't lie this time."

I stared at him and bit my lip, frowning slightly.

"Fine. I was just feeling a bit… funny."

He raised a brow and laughed a bit.

"Yuh. I got that."

I looked down and I felt his eyes on me.

"What was it?" He asked knowingly.

"Nothing." I said weakly.

I wasn't looking at him but I could sense his raised eyebrows.

"I-." I was cut off.

"What happened to your arm?" He asked.

I looked at my arm, seeing the plaster he was referring to.

The needle had gone quite deep and was bleeding a bit. I didn't want it to stain anything so I stuck a plaster on it.

"Nothing. A scratch."

"And you put a plaster on it?" He asked, disbelieving.

"A deep scratch?" I tried. "Anyway I-." I stopped when I saw his expression.

He put his hand to his face and rubbed his temples.

"You didn't." He said quietly. "Parker. You didn't did you?"

"Did what?"

"You went to the hospital didn't you?" He asked.

I wiggled my toes in my shoes nervously.

"That laughing injection?" He said.

My eyes flickered away from his. I was surprised that he didn't say anything else, so I looked back at him.

"It was for a good cause." I mumbled.

"What cause?" He asked.

I couldn't tell him that I was just really curious about A.S.H and my parents. He didn't even know about my parents.

"I didn't even get what I wanted." I said.

"What did you get?"

I was relieved he sort of changed the subject.

"An amusing video, a bunch of elements and a drawing."

He smirked. "Elements?" He asked.

I nodded. "I don't know.."

"What was the drawing of?"

"A cave and some hills." I shrugged.

"Does that mean anything?"

I shrugged again. "Don't know."

There was a pause as we both wondered off in thought.

"Which elements?" He asked.

I pulled out a scrap piece of paper I had written them on from my jeans and passed it to him.

" What's a '_minus_ hydrogen'?" He asked with a raised brow and a smirk touching his lips.

"That's what I said." I shrugged.

He paused in thought. "Maybe there's a pattern or something."

Before I could say anything else, he walked out the room and came back a few minutes later with his Mad Science text book. He sat down at a chair opposite the sofa I was on and placed the book in the coffee table between us. He turned the pages to the end and stopped on the periodic table.

He looked at the paper I had given him and circled in pencil the elements I had written down.

"It could be a code." I suggested

We both looked at them intently. They seemed pretty random to me.

I took the pencil and paper from his hands.

"What about their numbers? The atomic ones or something?" I said.

"Atomic numbers?" He asked, gesturing to the number each element had at the top.

I nodded and started to write all the atomic numbers down of the circled elements

"Wait. I said 'point' in between some elements, didn't I?" I asked myself, thinking of myself listing the elements on the video.

I wrote down the numbers in order and put the points in place.

"And there was a 'minus'." Warren pointed.

I nodded and added the minus in front of the atomic number of hydrogen, remembering that was where I had said it.

"I said the two rows of elements separately. I said ' Strontium point Chlorine, Selenium, Arsenic.' and then ' minus Hydrogen point Radon, Scandium, Bismuth.' Does that mean two different numbers?" I asked.

He nodded. "Could do."

All these elements could mean nothing, but it was worth a go. So I tried to arrange the numbers. I didn't add them together, I just put the atomic numbers in the same order as the element and fitted them together (no math involved).

Strontium point Chlorine, Selenium and Arsenic made a number of 38. 173433. And minus Hydrogen point Radon, Scandium and Bismuth made -1.862183

We spent at least an hour trying to work out something from it. I took the mathematical approach of solving it (adding, subtracting, multiplying) while Warren tried to think of what they could mean.

"A time? An age? A date?" Warren suggested.

I ignored him unintentionally, focusing on multiplying them together, adding them.

"What's that specific? It's not rounded or anything to make it easier. What has two sets of numbers? Directions? A scale? A-"

"What did you just say?" I asked, looking up from my work.

"A scale?"

"No, before that."

"Directions?"

I nodded and I looked down at the numbers, a disbelieving look crossing my face.

"What?" He asked seriously.

I hesitated. "Map coordinations."

"Why would you want map coordinations?"

Is that what they want? A.S.H? It could be. Something I had. The sequence of the elements were wired into me. I had memorised them before I forgot everything. That could be it. They could want whatever is there. They could want the information from me to find out how to get it.

"Do you have a computer?" I asked.

He leaned over me and lifted one up from the table behind me. I took the laptop and went on the internet. Typing in 'latitude and longitude search' in Google, I clicked on the first link that came up. Tapping in the two numbers the elements mad (the first I was guessing was the latitude) to the two search bars. It took a few seconds to find it's destination on the globe.

"Spain." I said.

It was a few miles off a town called Moratalla. The name felt familiar. I wasn't going to let Warren know what it was called though. "It fit's the picture I drew as well. Hot country I'm guessing, judging from the sand and the dry looking vegetation I had drawn."

"So, what's there?" He asked.

"Something I need." I said under my breath subconsciously.

He blinked. "What?"

"I need it. It's what they want." I said, starting to panic slightly.

"No. You don't need it. It's safe where it is."

I shook my head. "No it's not."

"It's been fine for however long it's been there for. It will do fine for a while longer.

"Exactly! It's been there for long enough. It's been there for years. It has to change places now. A.S.H might be close to finding it." I explained.

"No. Ash wouldn't want you if they thought they were close to finding it anyway." He pointed.

I shook my head. "I' could just be something to quicken the process of finding it if they get me. I have to go re-hide it before they find it."

"Fine. When do we leave?" He asked.

I shook my head again. "You can't come."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't know anything more than you already know about it." I said. "I shouldn't have let you see the coordinates either." I muttered, scolding myself.

"Do you know more about this than you already told me? Did that talk with Mr. Anson give you more information than I know?" He asked.

I couldn't be bothered with lying. I just nodded. "Yes. But I can't tell you it. You may as well be in my position if I told you."

He knew I was being stubborn and wouldn't tell him. So he gave up trying to press it out of me and carried on with the original subject.

"Don't go to Spain. Leave whatever's there where it is. You don't even know _what_ it is. Don't risk yourself for it." He said quietly.

I looked down. "Fine.." I said just as quietly. "How would I be able to get there anyways?" I huffed in submission.

"You won't go?" He asked.

"I won't." I agreed, looking right into his eyes.

He stared at me, our face inches apart, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't know." He said to himself.

"Well. Im going to go to." I started to yawn. "- Layla's now. I'm tired." I stated, glancing at my watch that read one thirty. I hadn't been expecting it to be that late. I really hadn't.

He continued to stare at me and slowly started to shake his head. "I don't trust you." He said.

"Well that's nice." I said sarcastically.

"You still want to go to Spain." He said.

"That's stupid." I dismissed. "I wouldn't have the guts to do that. How could I do that now anyways?" I repeated. "It's the middle of school and how would I even get on a plane without -."

"I don't know but it seems you can do it with a lot of other things. Not many people have the guts to steal from a secured room in a hospital. Or hack into a restaurants security." He interrupted. "So I don't trust you."

"Well. Are you going to stop me from sleeping or something?" I asked. " Cause i've got to sleep somewhere soon cause-."

"You can sleep here." He interrupted again.

I blinked. "Wha?"

"You can sleep here." He repeated.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Layla doesn't know you want to go to Spain yet and I think you'll take advantage of that and go without her knowing. I'll tell her tomorrow so she'll know and you can stay then. For now, however, you can stay here so I can make sure you're not going anywhere." He explained.

I groaned.

He pulled me by the arm up the stairs, I reluctantly dragged along behind him. We started walking into his room.

"Ur… Warren. Do you not have a guest room or something?" I asked hopefully.

He shook his head. "You can sleep on my bed, I'll sleep on the floor.

* * *

I wriggled about in my chair. My arms felt restrained. There was something holding them back, I couldn't move them. Same with my feet.

I was outside. It looked windy but I couldn't feel it. The air was full of mist. I couldn't see four meters in front of me.

But I could see something dark emerging from the fog. A figure.

I started to squirm again in fear.

As it stepped closer, my heart beat faster. It strode out of the fog and eerily slowly out of the mist. But it's features did not sharpen. I was still seeing him as if he was in the fog; he remained a silhouette.

Another figure appeared in the haze.

Soon, there were five figures. All advancing towards me.

My heart drummed against my chest. I squirmed in my restraints and let out a muffled shriek. There was tape over my mouth too.

I stared blankly in horror as they quickened their pace. They were in reaching distance now.

They all held out a hand towards me.

I shut my eyes, squeezing them closed; expecting them to take me or… something. But they didn't. I couldn't feel anything. I opened an eye slowly.

The scenery had changed, I was no longer room was dark and damp. It was gloomy and made my heart beat faster.

A bright light appeared in front of me, glaring into my eyes. Blinding me from the rest of my surroundings.

And then, suddenly, a figure stepped in front of the light. I couldn't see any features again, the light was behind him and was only making him appear as a silhouette.

I wriggled my restrained arms and kicked the covers around my legs.

Covers?

My eyes flew open.

I sat bolt upright. Blinking rapidly, trying to get the tears out from my eyes, I looked around the room. A slither of moonlight shone through the curtains and I recognised it as Warren's room.

It was just a bad dream.

My heart was still going wild. I lay back down and tried to calm myself.

A while later, I still couldn't shut my eyes. I didn't want another bad dream. At least not one like that. Not a nightmare that could possibly soon be my reality.

I could feel my eyes grow heavy with exhaustion but I didn't want to shut them. I was scared of shutting them.

Rolling over, I saw Warren on the floor. His body moved rhythmically to his breathing under his duvet. Calm.

It looked nicer on the floor than it did on the bed.

Without thinking, I got up and walked over to him, laying myself on the floor a few metres away from him. He seemed like the safer option than being alone.

"Bad dream?" He mumbled, eyes still shut.

I was surprised at his voice and guilty for waking him up.

I nodded.

He lifted an arm up, lifting part of the blanket with it.

I hesitated before shuffling closer to get under the blanket. I rolled onto my side away from him and lay my head on his other arm. The arm that was holding the blanket up came down to wrap around my body protectively. I shuffled my back further into his chest.

It was so warm. I was wrapped, enveloped in heat.

I would've found this pretty awkward if I hadn't had that dream before hand. But I felt safer now, like no bad dream would ever dare come near me wrapped in Warrens arms.

That's how I managed to get to sleep.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_I slowly felt her breathing slow and her muscles relax. Smiling now she was asleep._

_I hadn't meant to open my arm up as an invite to get under the duvet. I was still half asleep and had done it unconsciously. So I was shocked when she lay down next to me, her head on my arm. But I wasn't complaining. I quickly relaxed and put my other arm to wrap around her; it felt natural._

_She shuffled closer into me so the back of her head was only centimetres away from my face._

_I slowly fell to slumber again._

_The next morning, I opened my heavy eyes and was surprised to see no one there. I looked around the room and noticed a note on the floor next to me._

_I rolled over and picked it up, immediately knowing it was from her by seeing it was written in capitals._

_**I'LL BE CAREFUL. I PROMISE. XX**_

* * *

**A/N IMPORTANT - Okay. Be honest, if you have no idea about what I mean in this chapter, please ask. I know it's pretty confusing. So please tell me if you don't understand. If more than one of you doesn't, I'll explain it in the A/N at the top of my next chapter. So please ask if you don't understand!**

**Anyway, What's she going to find in Spain? How will she get there? How will Warren react? **

**~Review Reply ~**

**Peachykeen234-****_ I know right! Such a confusing character. I probably shouldn't have made him so... well, confusing. Anyway, I updated! Thanks for reviewing! Xxx_**

**Guest- ****_Thanks! Im so glad you liked it! Im really happy to know people want more of it as well, so thanks for telling me and reviewing! Xxx_**

**vampireprincessofempire - ****_Thanks! And what did you mean by 'avoiding power'? Btw, I just wanted to ask, what made you think of your pen name. It's so creative! Sorry... I get a bit carried away with peoples pen names. Thanks for your constant reviews! They all make me really happy! Xxx_**

**Thanks for reviewing guys! When I see an email saying I've got a review, I smile like a loony. They're are so much fun to read. So thanks! XX**


	22. España

A/N Sorry this took a while, I had to re-write it. Stupid thing had to go and delete itself.

Okay. Im going to do a little... survey I guess. But after this story, I have three options.

**1. Continue into Miya, Warren Junior year and the gangs sophomore year (so basically keep going and start a new plot)**

**2. Miya's parents' time at Sky High and their adventure. **

**3. A completely different Sky High fic, start from scratch. I should leave this alone.**

I can think of something cool for either one of those but I don't know what you guys want.

So, and i'm going to need more people than just my regular reviewers to help as well, which one would you prefer?

I've still got a while to go with this story, but just for after. I'm going to need some help from as many of you as possible as to which one to do.

So please review or PM me.

Thank you so much!

Enjoy.. xxx

Wild Ways

* * *

España

**Brick POV **

**Airport somewhere near Maxville.**

_**I have seen a bunch-a animals in ma time. 'Cause that's ma job. I make sure they get onto their planes and jets on time. They're usually zoo or circus animals, cause all d'em other animals usually get killed for eaten' at the country they're arrivin' at. They don't have to be in good condition. So they get shipped on d'em boats.**_

_**But all the zoo animals that get put on ma planes and jets have to be in good conditions, who want's to pay money to see animals in bad condition at the zoo or circus? That's just wrong.**_

_**And it's ma job to keep them in that good condition before they get on their planes or jets. And i'm proud of ma job.**_

_**All animals are different, that's what I've learn't from ma experience of ma job in the past year. They all have their own, different personalities. Like us humans. They're all one of a kind. Each of them have their own personalities, marking's and looks.**_

_**Ma alarm rings me awake every mornin' at six thirty. I get up, get dress, eat, and then go to ma job at the airport. But it ain't an airport that us humans go to go on vacation. It's an airport for only food and cargo. And, of corse, animals.**_

_**There are loads of different animals that people want exportin'. And I'm always surprised to see what new animal needs exportin' next after I wake up and go to ma job at the airport.**_

_**Today, ma surprise was seein' a bunch-a zebra's. They were all yippin' about and makin' loud noises that hurt ma ears. But I was used to it by now.**_

_**I'm always fascinated by new animals I haven't seen before. I always go to ma favourite colleague, Cliff, to go to ask him about the new animals we have to look after. Cliff's ma favourite colleague 'cause he get's me. And I get him. And the other colleagues all think me and Cliff our dumber than them, I don't mind being called stupid, but Cliff does. So I have his back. 'Cause I'm Cliff's friend.**_

_**"Hiya, Cliff!" I greeted him when I saw him makin' some coffee before our day at work.**_

_**"Hi, Brick. How're you?" Cliff asked after I greeted him.**_

_**"I'm good Cliff. Are you good too?" I asked. We always have the same conversation every morning.**_

_**"I'm good too, Brick."**_

_**"Did you see d'em zebra's?" I asked.**_

_**"Yeah."**_

_**"Where are these zebra's going?" I asked.**_

_**"Somewhere in Europe. Some of them are for the circus and some are for a zoo."**_

_**"Do you know anything 'bout zebra's, Cliff?" I asked. **_

_**I asked him even though I knew he did. Cliff wanted to do work with animals when he was younger. So he read lots of books on d'em and stuff. Cliff was clever with animals. I don't know why none of them animal people didn't allow him to work with them. But they didn't, so Cliff just ended up getting them onto them planes and jets. Like me.**_

_**"Yes, Brick. I do. They're a lot like horses." He said.**_

_**"How're they different to horses?" I asked, getting ma coffee once he had got his.**_

_**"Well. They've got de'm stripes on them. They also have different jaws."**_

_**"Why don't people ride on zebra's then?" I asked, pressing the button to make the coffee come out of the machine.**_

_**"Because of their different jaws, Brick. If you ride on a zebra, they get all angry and stuff. Then they bite your butt. But, 'cause they have de'm different's jaws, they can lock their teeth into your butt. They won't let go, so when you get off, a bit of your butt will still be in their teeth." Cliff said.**_

_**I grabbed ma coffee and started walkin' with my favourite colleague outside; where the zebra's were.**_

_**"That's so clever of their jaws." I said, fascinated with the zebra's now.**_

_**Sometimes, we have to look after the animals before they get on a plane. But the zebra's had already been looked after for by the people who were working before our shift. So we didn't need to look after these zebra's, their plane had already arrived.**_

_**Inside the plane, there's a bunch-a people who will stay with them inside during there flight to somewhere in Europe. To make sure they're all alright. **_

_**Cliff and I started the process of putting all of the zebra's onto the plane. It's quite boring really. But I love seeing all the animals, that's ma favourite part. **_

_**We started to put them into their big crates with the big holes in the sides so they could breathe. **_

_**There wasn't many zebra's, so we didn't need to use many crates. While Cliff was putting one in on his own. I started with another. It was only once it was in the crate, and I had shut it that I looked through the big, breathing holes I saw something I hadn't seen before.**_

_**"Hey, Cliff!" I called.**_

_**"What?"**_

_**"Come see this."**_

_**Cliff came over. I pointed at the zebra's eyes.**_

_**"Whoa! They're purple."**_

* * *

**Ramón POV. **

**San Javier Airport, Spain. 12 hours Later.**

_**Zebra's? Great. **_

_**I hated driving animals to and from places. I hated driving. The animals made it worse. They stank up the truck and made a constant mess I always seem to be endlessly clearing up due to the law. But I had a family, a large one, and food wasn't offering itself to our kitchen table exactly.**_

_**"How many?" I asked a plump guy who worked at the airport.**_

_**"Six." He replied.**_

_**I nodded. Not nearly as bad as some things I've had to transport.**_

_**He walked me over to the pen where the zebra's had been taken out of their crates for the first time since they landed in Spain. I could smell them before I could see them.**_

_**The large man unlocked a few bolts to slide the door open. I opened the back of my truck and put a ramp down, ready to herd the stripy, noisy animals into the back.**_

_**I turned around in time to see the pen door slide open. The zebra's were all there, as expected. But something shocked me. I stepped back a little.**_

_**A short, pretty, teenage girl was standing at the edge of the pen, staring with fearful and teary eyes at the zebra's. She had long, brown wavy hair, dusty clothes and a rucksack. She didn't look like she was native.**_

_**"OI!" The plump man shouted. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING?!" He yelled.**_

_**I didn't expect the girl to be able to understand his talking Spanish. She looked up at him. We could both now see that she looked terrified and had tears streaming down her cheeks. She started visibly, and audibly, sobbing when she heard the yell.**_

_**I followed the plump man into the pen and closer to the girl. The plump man looked more sympathetic towards the girl now he could see she was crying.**_

_**"What are you doing here?" He asked softer.**_

_**I was surprised to hear her reply in Spanish. "I- I am scared of animals and m-m-my b-brother thought it would be funny to lock me in here." She sobbed.**_

_**She didn't even have a slight accent to her Spanish that would suggest she came from another country. So I assumed she was, in fact, Spanish.**_

_**"Aw. It's okay. Come on. You can come out now." The plump man said, feeling a lot more sympathetic for the terrified teenager. **_

_**He led the girl out of the pen with a comforting hand on her shoulder. **_

_**"Would you like something to drink?" He asked.**_

_**The girl nodded, wiping her cheeks. "Yes please."**_

_**"Your brother must be quite stupid to think it would be funny to lock you in a pen of zebra's."**_

_**The girl forced a laugh out, still wiping tears. "Yeah. He is."**_

_**The man led her to a vending machine in the staff quarters. I wasn't quite sure what to do; I was on a tight schedule but I didn't want to interrupt, the girl was quite obviously upset. So I just awkwardly followed, hoping the man would notice me soon and remember what his job was.**_

_**The plump man fed a couple of coins to the machine and let the girl choose what drink she wanted.**_

_**I unconsciously looked at my watch, a clock ticking in the back of my mind. I should be on the road by now. **_

_**"Eh hem." I cleared my throat audibly.**_

_**The man and the girl turned around, as if noticing I was there for the first time.**_

_**"Oh yes. Sorry. I'll be with you in just a second." He turned back to the girl. "Would you like me to arrange a taxi for you or to you live near by?" He asked.**_

_**The girl shook her head. "Taxi would be good thanks."**_

_**He hurriedly walked over to one of the phones and dialled in a number. **_

_**"Name?" He asked the girl, holding the phone away from him.**_

_**"Marta." She replied.**_

_**He continued to talk with the man on the other end and hung up.**_

_**"Okay, someone should be waiting for you at the main entrance. Do you have money?"**_

_**She nodded. **_

_**"Okay. Get home safe." He waved as she walked in the opposite direction, following the signs to the main entrance.**_

_**"Thank you." She called.**_

_**The man turned back to me.**_

_**"Sorry. Where were we? Zebra's?"**_

* * *

**Marcos POV. **

**Few hours later. Moratalla.**

_**Soccer's not my best sport. I mean, It is my best because i'm good at it. But, I don't like it**_

_**But, it's what all my mates seem to want to play, so I join in. **_

_**Moratalla is a large and busy town, it's surrounded by miles of mountainous, agricultural and grassy nothing, though. So we made our way to the edge of town to have more space to play. **_

_**We had cleared a sandy patch when we were little to play on and have been going there ever since. Other kids used it as well but that was okay. **_

_**"Oi. Marc. You're on my team." My friend, Dante, called, snapping me out of my trance.**_

_**I jogged over to him to join the rest of my team. I didn't really have a strong interest in playing, so I didn't even notice how bad our team was compared to the other.**_

_**We soon started playing. My mates started to tackle each other for the ball, showing off the skills we had developed together over the years. That's what I didn't like about soccer; it was all about showing off. The sun made me hate it even more on that day though. The heat wasn't a good mixture with running.**_

_**I stopped for a minute, putting my arms behind my head as I caught my breath, having just scored the first goal of the game. I could feel the iron-blood taste at the back of my throat and my side ached, I loved it. I loved running.**_

_**"Okay." The other team captain, Miguel, clapped. "We can do this. Let's keep going."**_

_**Everyone made their way back to their original positions. I looked up at the sky. The sun was behind a mountain now, it would soon become dark and we wouldn't have to play anymore. **_

_**I focused on the ball as it started to dribble down to the other end of the pitch. Dante soon tackled it and gained control, taking it to the other end of the pitch. Another reason why I disliked soccer: it was so back-and-forth.**_

_**Soon, another point was scored and all of us started in our positions again but two. Dante and a mate called Tomas, **_**_were standing at the edge and talking. I jogged over to them, thinking their conversation would be more interesting than the game._**

**_"What conversation topic has the honour of taking priority over our precious game?" I asked._**

**_They both turned to me._**

**_"Nicely put." Tomas smirked._**

**_"Why, thank you." I said, making a little theatrical bow._**

**_"Have you seen her before?" Dante asked._**

**_I turned to see what they had been talking about. Or _who _they had been talking about. A teenaged girl with sandy blonde hair, dusty clothes and a rucksack was walking up on the ridge above the pitch. They were right, I hadn't seen her before, and that's an unusual thing for me. Moratalla is a big town but I was born and raised there. I knew every nook and cranny of this place. Along with every child and granny._**

**_Of corse, in tourist season, the town was flooded with people I hadn't seen before. But seeing one while it's not tourist season - specially a teenager who should be at school - isn't common for me._**

**_A few other boys had gathered around us._**

**_"Who's that?" One of them asked._**

**_"I haven't seen her before."_**

**_"She's fit."_**

**_"I'm going in." I announced._**

**_I started walking away, followed by resounding ooh's coming from the boys._**

**_"Good luck." Dante called._**

**_I smirked back at him and turned in pursuit of the mysterious girl._**

**_I scaled up the ridge, it took me a while to catch up to her on the dusty path that lead to the start of the miles of woodland._**

**_"What's business does a beautiful girl - such as yourself - have in the forrest at this time of day?" I asked, nodding at the woods._**

**_"Trying to avoid hormonal teenaged boys - such as yourself - from bugging me." She replied, turning around to face me._**

**_I laughed. "Do you have a name?"_**

**_"That depends. Which one? First, middle or last?"_**

**_"Let's go with all of them." I smirked._**

**_"Magdelena Elana Martinez."_**

**_"Marcos Andrés Torres. But people call me Marc." I grinned._**

**_"Well, people call me Magdelena the Great and Wonderful. But I'll let you call me Lena."_**

**_I faked a grimace. "Wouldn't want to call you something you're not. I'll stick with Magdelena the Great and Wonderful." My smirk returning. "So. What is a girl like you got to do in there?" I repeated._**

**_"And what kind of girl would that be?" She asked._**

**_"A defenceless, alone, pretty one."_**

**_Her hand shot up so fast you could have missed it if you blinked. Her fingers caught something. Before I could make out what it was, she flicked it at my face. I instinctively stumbled backwards, only noticing that it was a fly when I had caught my balance. She caught a fly?_**

**_She raised a brow. "Defenceless?"_**

**_"Fine. Alone and pretty?"_**

**_She turned around, heading back to the forrest. _**

**_"You shouldn't be going in there. It's going to get dark soon." I called after her, making her stop._**

**_She looked up at the orange and pink sky, noticing the sun crawling further behind a mountain as if she didn't know what time it was._**

**_"Fine. Do you know any hotels?" She asked._**

**_I clutched my heart in mock offence. "Of corse I do." I spluttered._**

**_"...Can you tell me where one is?" She pressed._**

**_I shook my head. "No. It's too much of a complicated route to explain." I said cheekily. "I'll have to show you."_**

**_She sighed and put her hand on her hip but steeped beside me anyway. I led her back down the path she had just come through. _**

**_"So... If you're not from around here. Where are you from?" I asked._**

**_She smirked, making her features spark. "How'd you tell?"_**

**_"Hmm..." I looked her up and down. "Not tanned enough." She laughed. "And, you just asked where a hotel was instead of going back home." I added._**

**_"Oh. Yeah. That would give it away too." She nodded._**

**_"So what where you going to the forrest for?" I asked, again._**

**_"I'm trying to find something."_**

**_"Wait. Let me get this straight. You got here today and you've never been before?" She nodded. " And you're trying to find something." She nodded again. "In _that_." I added, turning around and gesturing to the mass of woodland and mountainous terrain surrounding us. She nodded again. "Looks like you'll need a tour guide." I sighed. "Lucky for you, I know the best one around."_**

**_"Oh, really?" She asked __disinterestedly._**

**_"Yeah." I nodded._**

**_"And who might that be?"_**

**_"You're looking at him."_**

**_She looked at me as we walked along the cobbled, stone path leading through town. "Thanks, but no. I don't need one."_**

**_"Marcos!" I turned at the sound of my name._**

**_Lena looked up at him. "Go play with you're friends, Marc." She smirked. "I'm sure I'll be fine."_**

**_"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Dante called, looking down at us from the soccer pitch, wearing a smirk._**

**_"Looks like Marcos found himself a chicka!" One of them shouted down, followed by more remarks. I ignored them and started walking again._**

**_I spoke up when we had turned a corner, out of view from the boys._**

**_"What's your favourite food?" I asked._**

**_"I don't have one." Lena replied._**

**_"Oh. I know the best place for that. You want to get some dinner?" I asked, wearing an impudent smile._**

**_"Thanks. But I'm not hungry." She dismissed._**

**_Her stomach betrayed her statement with a low rumble. Then a thought occurred to me._**_**"You got a boy, Lena?"**_

_**I looked at her and noticed she was trying to suppress a blush.**_

_**"What's his name?" I teased, knowing it was making her feel uncomfortable.**_

_**"I don't have one."**_

_**I was slightly **_**_relieved at the answer, it would have been a bit embarrassing if she had. But I noticed that she looked unsure. I looked at her with a raised brow._**

_**"I told you. There isn't one." She repeated.**_

_**"Then why are you so uptight?" I asked.**_

_**She paused. "Im on a tight schedule."**_

_**Of what? This girl became more of a mystery with every word that came out of her mouth. It made me eager to find out more. I tried a different approach for fishing for answers.**_

_**"How long do you want a hotel for? If your staying for a long time, I could show you the nicer one." I asked.**_

_**She shook her head. "Only a night. Go for the cheapest."**_

_**"A night?" I repeated, shocked. I thought she only got here today.**_

_**She nodded.**_

_**I was about to ask her why when she spotted the hotel I was taking her to.**_

_**"Thanks Marc. I'll be fine from here." She said, walking faster in the direction of the hotel.**_

_**I pulled her back by her arm. She looked at me, slightly surprised.**_

_**"If you think twice about that tour, I live in that house over there with the blue door." I said, pointing at my house.**_

_**She nodded and started walking away again.**_

_**"Thanks." She called over her shoulder.**_

* * *

**Isabella POV.**

**Hotel de Viajeros. A few minutes later.**

**_"I think someone's ringin, Isa'." Sofia said._**

**_I turned round, and so someone was. _**

**_"Hold my cig, Sof." I said, handing her my cigarette._**

**_I walked out of the back room and up to the reception desk._**

**_"Hello and welcome to the Hotel de Viajeros." I said for the, like, eight billionth time. " We all hope that you enjoy your stay here. How long are you going to be stayin here for?" I asked._**

**_"A night." _**

**_I was surprised at the young voice. I looked up and saw that it was a teenaged girl._**

**_"Your parent's comin or somefin?" I asked, looking at the door behind her._**

**_"No. It's just me."_**

**_I eyed her up and down. My little amount of curiosity vanished, though. I couldn't be bothered._**

**_I turned and grabbed a random key to give to the girl._**

**_"When're you leavin?" I asked._**

**_"Tomorrow. I should be gone by morning."_**

* * *

Miya POV

I sat bolt upright. Panting. My face sweaty and my heart hammering. Another bad dream. But, this time, there was no Warren to keep them away.

I rubbed the last traces of sleep from my eyes and wiped my hair from my face. I was momentarily alarmed at the colour; I forgot I had dyed it. Dyeing meant I would be harder to recognise. I didn't know how far Ash had gotten from finding the cave near Moratalla. If they saw me, hopefully they wouldn't give me a second glance. That was my logic anyway.

Looking out the small, arched window in the dark room, I noticed the sky was still dark but had an early, pink tint beyond the mountains. My clock read five thirty; perfect timing.

I swung my legs out of bed and, in a few minutes, I was ready to leave. Showered, changed and packed. Zipping open the secret compartment of my rucksack (_yes! I had made a compartment for the things that might be suspicious if someone caught me, such as the large sums of money, math photo and a few knifes - just in case.) _I pulled out my GPS and the periodic table I had ripped from Warrens textbook (couldn't leave it with him with the circled elements, he could just re-do the code and find me) and typed in the coordinates.

Happy that everything I needed was in my backpack, I stepped out the door. My stomach growled at me angrily as I walked through. I winced with the reminder I hadn't eaten since the granola bar I had at the airport. But I suppressed my need for food and shut the door behind me. I needed to get this done and out of the way. Once I found it, I would eat.

I crept down the stairs and into the quiet reception, placing the key to my room and a generous amount of money on the desk. Slipping outside, I stepped into the cool, breezy dark air and onto the cobbled road that made up the town. I felt out of place as I walked down the lifeless roads. My heart beat was the only sound other than the cooing of distant birds. I felt small as I walked through the grey-stoned town. It was beautiful. Shops were shut, waiting for their owners to wake up and for the town to resurrect. Washing lines hung above me with multiple colours of clothes, drying in the sun that had not yet risen. It looked like it would be a busy, fun, colourful town while it was awake and alive. But, as the town slept, it was dead. A beautiful dead.

I back-tracked to the path that lead to the woods I was originally walking on last night and entered the dense forrest. I only walked far enough into it that I knew no one in the town could see me transform. I chose a Jackdaw, a small, common bird found in North Africa, Europe and Western Asia. Shrinking and growing jet-black feathers that reflected the sunlight. Of corse, I would've liked to become a large, endangered eagle for the fun of it, but I would rather not take the small chance of getting shot down, stuffed and hung on someone's wall. So, common was good for me.

I flew up and over the tree's. Past the layer of green mountain's and over the dry, agricultural land that lay behind it. I soon spotted the next group of mountains - the one that hid my prize. At the foot of the first mountain was a little farm house and a ratty barn behind it. I swooped down and behind the barn and morphed into my human form; I wouldn't be able to see the cave from above. I would have to find it on foot.

Looking up from the base of the start of the mountains, they were large and different than the ones that surrounded Moratalla, isolated it. They both shared the feature of a dense forrest on the ground surrounding it, but these mountains were an orange rock with cliffs, unlike the Moratalla ones that had steep slopes covered with the same forrest.

I slung my backpack off my shoulder and undid the secret compartment to pull out the drawings I had done while on the drug. I studied them carefully. It looked like the same kind of place, the vegetation was the same kind.

The first picture, the one of the actual cave, wouldn't be of use until I actually got there. But the second one, the one with rocky hills in the background and a stream at the front would make it easier to find. If there was water, I needed to find a pond or maybe a spring that would lead off to a stream and -

"If you wanted more of me, you could have just asked."

My insides jumped out my skin as I leapt a foot in the air at the voice. I spun quickly on my heels in an instinctive fighting stance. Relaxing when I saw the figure leaning against the barn.

"What are you doing!?" I hushed my angered exclaim, worried I would attract unwanted attention of someone else.

"What am _I_ doing? I think the question that has more of a right to be answered is what _you're _doing here." I calmed down and looked at him in confusion. "This is my uncles farm. I help out." He explained.

"Oh." I let out.

"What're you doing out here?" He questioned.

"I was... I told you yesterday. I'm looking for something..." I trailed off when he cocked his head to look at something. I spun around to try see what it was, then realised he was looking at the drawings. I held them protectively to my chest.

"I know where that is." He said, nodding at the picture.

A weight seemed to lift off of me for a moment, but I started to question if it was a good idea to let him come with me, show me. If he already knew about the cave or the place, it wouldn't be anymore of a danger to him if he went back there, would it? He knew about it before I knew him. So it should be safe if someone became suspicious of him, right? A lot of the locals have probably seen it.

"Can you take me?" I plead.

"I thought you didn't want a tour guide." He teased

"Please?"

A smirk grew on his lips. "Anything for the pretty lady."

* * *

An hour later and my feet were aching. I was sweating madly and exhausted at the sun that was now high in the sky. Marc, however, seemed unfazed by the heat. He walked energetically a few metres in front of me. He looked like he hadn't even broken sweat.

The sun - even though we were in the shade of the forrest - seemed like a punishment. Although, I could tell I was going to get a lot of those once I got back to America. The gang would have a few bones to pick with me. Warren would too. My stomach tightened. I had felt bad just leaving him. It had felt wrong. I knew they would probably be worrying now, and I felt terrible for that. I didn't want them to worry.

I clambered over different logs that had fallen. All the dips and bumps of the rough ground. The forrest was alive with birds squawking above us. The insects humming in the background, leaving a constant ticking in the back of my mind. Reminding me of time. Reminding me that school started tomorrow. I was lucky it was a bank holiday today, monday. I wanted to get back before school started. Before the weekend ended. Before tomorrow. So I had to do this fast.

I was grateful Marcos had found me. It would've taken ages to find this place without him. But another part of me wished he wasn't there so I could turn into a fox or a deer. My feet wouldn't hurt and I would get there faster. But I needed Marcos, I didn't know where _'there_' was.

"Come see this." His voice snapped me out of thought.

He was on a ridge and hanging onto a tree as he peered around it. I clambered up the ridge and copied him. It seemed cooler all of a sudden. The insects became almost too loud, but soothing. I stared at the clearing ahead of me. The enormous mass of water, the sun bouncing off it's surface. The water mirrored the tall cliff next to it, going slightly blurry as it rippled from a light breeze that past, making it shimmer gracefully in the daylight.

Marc jumped down off the ridge, using the tree and walked closer to the edge of the large lake. I copied, walking up behind him, closer to the water.

"We used to come here on days like this to swim. Not so much anymore though. None of us can be bothered to walk out this far anymore." He said, crouching to run his hands through the water's perfect surface, leaving hypnotic ripples that spread out for metres.

"How long is it?" Was all I managed to say.

"I don't know exactly. But it's pretty big." He said. I nodded in agreement. "It's deep too. Mariana, an older sister of one of my friends, jumped off that once." He nodded at the cliff that towered high above us. "She said she still couldn't feel the bottom."

"Whoa." I said, my neck tilting vertically to look up at the cliff. "She has guts."

"No. She's mad. And was drunk."

"Oh. Was she alright?"

He nodded. "Without a scratch."

We carried on walking along the long lake and into the woods at the other end. Although I had only spent the length of the lake in the sun, I was relieved to get back in the shade of the forrest. It probably wasn't meant to be this hot at this time of year, but there must have been a heatwave; everything was dry and , well, hot.

I started to think of the gang again. They wouldn't tell anyone I had gone, would they? I'm almost certain Warren told the gang, but would they tell anyone else? I was going to be in trouble either way.

I didn't even mean to leave. When I had woken up early in Warrens arms, I hadn't even thought of it. I was juts embracing his warmth, enjoying it. And before I know what I'm doing, I'm out of the blankets, his arms and walking out the door. Down the stairs. Into the living room, getting rid of all the notes I had been making the night before, any evidence of where I was going. Ripping out his periodic table and deleting the history on his laptop so he couldn't see what I had typed in the night before. It was only when I was out of the front door that I really realised what I was doing. I felt bad for just leaving Warren there, I really did. I even went back inside to write him a note, reassuring him. I knew it wouldn't, but I felt like I needed to leave something for him.

Marc stopped suddenly. So suddenly I stumbled into him and rebounded off his back. He gestured for me to show him the drawing. I handed it to him and he stared at it.

"I think we're here."

I had been so absorbed in thought, I hadn't been taking in the scenery. I looked down at the picture, back up at the scenery, down, up.

The little shrub in the drawing was green and full of healthy branches and leaves. The one before me was dead and dry. But other than that, they were almost symmetrical. The shapes of the hills in the background. The trees at one end. The stream was a little larger on the drawing but the had the same curves. I suddenly felt a surge of excitement; we were getting closer.

Marc walked left and behind a wall of bushes that were in the corner of the picture. The ground fell into a narrow dip. We walked through it, in between the bushes and the cliff at our backs.

"Here."

He gestured downward to a cave.

It was exactly like the one in the picture, but I imagined it somewhat bigger. Like, being-able-to-walk-in-and-not-have-to-duck-your-he ad, big. The little cave was no taller than my feet up to my thighs.

"Do you know how long it is?" I asked

He shook his head. "We used to play hide and seek here. People always hid at the front, too scared to go to the back. But it's long. Someone tried to get to the end but chickened out at five metres."

I unzipped my bag and pulled out a torch I thought I would need.

"Can you hold this?" I asked, handing him my bag.

I wasn't worried about him finding anything in the rucksack worth suspicion, I had hidden them all.

He took it and went to sit on a rock by the entrance. "Be careful."

I crouched down and crawled into the cave. It soon got smaller and I lay down on my stomach, crawling on my elbows - army style. It was a good thing I wasn't claustrophobic. I shone my torch light on the walls. They dripped with solid stalactites and at the edges of the floor, it poked up with similar stalagmites. I was careful not to roll onto any of them, they looked sharp.

The air of the cave reminded me of a basement. An old and musty air that reminded you of mould. An air that you didn't want to breathe in.

Crawling further down the cave, I thought it would be best to make it to the end of the and look for carefully on my way back. So I continued to slide further into the cave on my stomach, the damp sand seeping into my clothes.

The walls came in and the ceiling came lower the further I got, making it hard to breathe.

"Are you alright?" I heard Marc call.

I looked over my shoulder and noticed I had gone further down than I had thought; nine, ten metres.

"Yeah."

A thought occurred to me; he wouldn't be able to see me now I'm this far in.

I tucked my torch into my pocket and thought of cat-like features, knowing they could see well in the dark. I shrunk and my skin turned into a black shadow of fur, blending in with the dark.

I trotted down the cave. It still got narrower, finer, but now I was a cat, I didn't care. I could breathe again. It was a much larger space now I wasn't human.

There was a sudden dip in the wall. If I were still human, I would've had to lie flat down on the floor and somehow shimmy under. But, I easily walked under. I was slightly shocked as I came out from it.

It opened up into a large, tall, natural cavern. I morphed back into a human, taking it in. It was four metres tall and was six, seven metres in diameter. It was like a circular hive in the wall had lines, layers of different colours. I didn't need my torch to see. There was a small, spotlight of daylight coming from a little hole. I walked up to it and stood on my tiptoes to see through it.

It was a small, cylindric, natural hole that went through two feet of rock. It was the exact same size as on of my eyes. I peered through it, blinking from the sudden amounts of daylight. But there was no mistaking the water at the bottom of my view. It was looking out at the lake. But, it was aimed at a rock. A boulder. A medium sized boulder. Not the biggest nor the smallest. It wasn't pretty, wasn't ugly. Too large to carry. Too small for anything useful. Something you wouldn't bother moving when you could move or use the other one's surrounding it. It wasn't special. And that's how I knew it was what I was looking for.

I leapt back into my cat form and trotted back through the cave, catching my leg on one of the stalagmites. I almost forgot to change back to my human a few metres before the end of the cave.

I crawled out and dusted my wet clothes off. Marc stuttered to life on his rock and handed me my bag.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked.

I shook my head. "It showed me something." I said, flashing a grin and starting back the way we came.

He hurried to keep up with me. "The cave showed you something?" He raised a brow teasingly.

I nodded and leapt out of the ditch and in front of the wall of bushes, back into the trees we had come from.

"Wait." He called. I stopped. "Your bleeding."

I looked down, inspecting myself for injuries. "On you calf." He pointed.

I looked down and saw the cut. "It's fine. Doesn't hurt."

He looked unsure. "You should probably get tha-"

"It's fine. Trust me." I said, to excited with my discovery to be too involved with my leg.

When we approached the clearing of the lake, my excitement got to me and I started running to get around the enormous lake and round to the other side, round to the boulder.

I crouched down next to it. I could tell Marc was looking at me like I needed to be shipped off to a mental asylum. My fingers gingerly felt the ground around the rock for anything. When I was sure nothing was there, they started to brush the smooth rock lightly, as if it would break if I tried any harder.

A bump.

I moved my fingers back. There was a small ridge. I took them off so I could have a look. There was a small, perfect rectangle. About the size of two fingernails. It was subtle, as if it were drawn on with pencil. Too subtle to notice if you were just sitting on it or looking at it.

I bought my thumb up and pressed it into the centre of the rectangle. At first, it didn't budge. But a little more force and it shifted. I grinned and pushed harder, bringing my other thumb up to help.

The bit of the rock with the rectangle started to move inwards, making me think of the game Jenga. The one with the little blocks of wood? We used to pay it at my old orphanage. You would poke inward at one and it would come out the other side.

I stood up and leaned over to look over at the other side of the rock. Sure enough, a bit was poking out. I crouched back down and continued pushing it inwards. I pushed it to the point my fingers couldn't go in any further.

I manoeuvred around the rock and looked at the thin block of rock I had pushed out. There was a little, square dip embedded into it. It carried a small, blue, plastic memory stick.

I picked it up softly with my fingers as if it might snap if I did it too quickly. I slid it into my pocket, wearing the goofiest grin that hurt my cheeks.

"Wh- What is that?" Marc stuttered.

"I have absolutely no idea." I grinned, teeth showing in victory. But it weakened when I realised something; he shouldn't have seen that. He shouldn't have been there while I got it. "And neither do you." I said firmly, my tone telling him he shouldn't mention this event.

He nodded in understanding.

I reached into my other pocket and pulled out a fifty euro note, handing it to him. He stumbled backwards, waving his arms in front of his face as if he were scared of it.

"No. I don't want it." He said, staring at it as if it were going to bite him.

"Come on. Every good tour guide gets payed, right?" I said cheerfully.

He shook his head. "No. You keep it. I don't want it." He repeated.

"Okay. Well, then... Thanks." I said.

"No problem. Wait, are you not going back to town?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Im going that way." I said pointing behind us. I didn't actually _need_ to go that way, I just needed to change into a bird, ASAP.

"Oh. Okay. See you later then." Knowing he wouldn't but saying it anyways.

I went along. "Yeah. See you later."

I moved towards him and hugged him.

"Bye." I waved and turned around.

* * *

_Marcos POV._

_What had I just seen? What was that memory stick? How did she know something was in that rock? I've been coming here my whole life and haven't noticed a thing. I didn't want to ask her though. She didn't look as though she was going to tell me._

_I walked by the lake, towards home. Past where Dylan broke his ankle when we were seven. We came out here in a monsoon and thought it would be fun to see how slippery the rocks got. I laughed under my breathe, looking back at our lame logic._

_I stuffed my hands in my pockets - an old habit of mine. I frowned when I felt something that wasn't there __before. My left hand fingered something wrinkly and crumpled. I grabbed it and pulled it out. My hand held an orange and white note that had a picture of an arch from the renaissance era. I frowned and turned around. I told her I didn't want her money. _

_I was about to shout out that very statement to her, but I turned, and she had vanished._

* * *

**A/N. Just a reminder of the A/N above. Please help me decide! I would be really grateful.**

**Just click in the box below and say '1' or '2' or '3' according to which one you want from the first A/N.**

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**I just want to say to you guys, thanks so much for reviewing. You're what i'm doing this for.**

**Peachykeen234- _I know, right! And me too. I would defiantly not be off going to Spain, I would be with you on the hiding in the corner. I haven't actually read Spiderwick. I've never been recommended it before. Is it good? Maybe I'll read it. What did you think about it? And you are __not__ an annoying reviewer! Don't worry. I'm more of one! xx_**

**Vampireprincessofempire- _He he. Am I that predictable? And that's cool. I didn't think much about my pen name, I mean, Thing3? Really? Yours is so cool. Sorry. Anyway. Thank you so much for all the reviews! xxx_**


	23. Return

**A/N. Hey. I'm soooo sorry this is so late. PS: I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED. So don't think I've ditched it if I haven't updated in a while. My teachers all decided to spew up all my coursework in the last couple weeks :( and I have saturday school **and **school ends at 6:30 each day (one day at 8:00!). **

**Thanks for all those that voted. Im probably going to do one or two, but it was a tie so the vote is still open!**

**1. Carry on with this story.**

**3. Start new one.**

**By the way, this chapter is really short cause my sister thought I would ruin it if I added any more, but more will come soon!**

**Enjoy… xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Return**

I always wondered how late it had to be to become night from evening, and what time it had to be from night to morning. Oddly, that was my thought possession as I slipped into my dorm. The majority of the girls were still downstairs, but there was always one or two that wanted an early night, so I wasn't surprised to be greeted by snores and no lights. I quickly crossed to my bed, leaving the door open as a source of light. My area in the dorm looked bare, with everything at Layla's house. May had made use of my bed as extra storage, judging by all her girlie possessions sprawled over the stripped mattress that couldn't fit into her own overflowing cupboards. I shovelled her stuff to a single end of the bed and sat down, taking my phone off it's plug, surprised at what it read.

**Missed Calls, 9**

**Text Messages, 14**

**Voicemail, 7**

I didn't have to look at them to guess who were trying to contact me.

_Bzz Bzz_

The vibration of my phone in my hand made me jump. Layla. I pondered on weather to answer or not, then decided there was no point in avoiding it any more, so I went back out to the landing and shut the door.

"Hey, Layla." I started casually.

"Miya?"

"Ur… Yeah."

"Miyaa!"

My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline as I held the phone away from my ear at the high pitched squeak.

"Miya! Omigosh. Omigosh." She fired rapidly. " Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine." I reassured.

"Where are you? Everyone has been -"

"Im at the orphanage."

"Okay. Can I come and get you? I'm pretty sure you've got a lot of questioning to go through with everyone."

I bit my lip. "Everyone meaning…?"

"Just the gang." I sighed in relief at the reply. "We were going to tell Mr. Anson if you weren't back by tomorrow."

"Why Mr Anson?"

"Because he seems to know more about this than we do… According to Warren." She explained. "Anyway, I'll just be a second telling everyone your back and then we can walk over to Will's?"

"Er…"

"It's not a question, Miya."

I let out a sigh through the microphone. "…. I know." I added exasperatedly.

"Kay. See ya in a second."

With that, she hung up.

I trudged back down the stairs. Dont get me wrong, I missed them all (I know I'd only been gone a weekend but it felt like a year), I just wasn't looking forward to confronting them. In the lobby, Layla soon rolled up and appeared in the doorway. She poked her head around, scanning the room until her gaze landed on me. She cocked her head at the sight at me but then waved and did a quick skip-run over to me.

"Hi Layla." I forced out the breathe I could muster from the bear-hug she was enveloping me into.

"I can't believe you left." She sighed into my ear, eventually letting go and walking me out the door.

I didn't really know what to say. "I… I'm sorry?"

"You can't just run off when your… While you… In your situation." She tried quietly.

"…I know." I said under my breathe, as if I had just been caught with my hand in the candy jar.

If I was getting this kind of thing from _Layla,_ I was not looking forward to the rest of them. Especially not from Warren. An uncomfortable line shot through my stomach as I thought of him. I had just… left. I promised I wouldn't. The thought left a guilty ache inside of me, throbbing mercilessly the whole way to Will's house.

Will greeted me in a similar way to Layla (minus the whole girlie part) and started asking me questions too, but before he could, I was pushing my way inside and on my way to the living room. Surprisingly, everyone was already there. Layla had been quick with contacting them all. I stopped in the doorway, everyone looked up at me with a variety of different expressions.

"Miya!"

"Oh my gosh. Are you okay?"

"What happened to your hair?"

"Yeah? Why is it blonde?"

"It looks nice."

"Not as nice as before."

"We were so worried."

"Why did you leave?"

"Where did you go?"

"When did you-"

"Where's Warren?" I interrupted.

Their firing questions ended. Layla piped up from behind. "He's not coming."

Not coming? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? A wave of dread washed over me. I needed to see him.

Everyone was looking at me as if I were a kicked puppy, I abruptly changed the subject.

"Did he tell you everything?" I asked.

"No. Not everything. But I guess he doesn't know _everything, _does he?" Ethan asked.

I quickly regretted asking the question; I couldn't tell them much about… well, anything.

"Er… No."

"Are you going to tell us?" Will asked after what seemed like _forever._

"Er… No."

"What can you tell us?" Magenta asked.

"That I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere else. And I did what I needed to do." I summarised.

"Can you tell us why you dyed your hair?" Zach asked, studying my shorter, sandy-blonde hair.

Magenta elbowed him and glared. "Can you tell us what you needed to do?" She asked curiously.

I bit my lip. "Find something and hide it."

"Where did you go to find it?"

"Spain." I answered vaguely.

"Whoa." Zach enthused, his face visibly brightening. " How did you get there?"

"Why do you smell so bad?" Will asked, wafting his hand in front of his face. "And why're you so dirty?"

And, from there, I basically told them everything about my trip. Apart from the things I couldn't, like what I was finding, what town I went to and where I hid it in the end. But everything from the animal plane to the cave, they were intrigued about. However, my mind wasn't really involved in the story. My mouth was spilling out the words while my mind was off somewhere else. Thinking about a certain boy.

"- after I said goodbye to Marc, I went off and… and… sorry guys" I stopped, my mouth failing to come out with the words anymore. "I gotta go speak to Warren." I rose robotically from my chair and grabbed my jacket to leave. I felt everyone's gaze follow me as I strode down the hallway and out into the freezing night.

* * *

Warren's wasn't far but I ran up into a pigeon anyway, jumping up and flying through the different streets of Maxville. It was different at night, it seemed dirtier and the familiar streets felt unrecognisable without the sunlight and rush of dutiful people.

I soared through all the different avenues, knowing the way to Warren's off the back of my hand now, soon approaching the floral house, I dived down and onto the roof, thinking it would be odd for someone to be knocking on the door this late at night. Waddling my way around the roof with my annoyingly tiny feet, I made my way to Warrens window. He was sat at his desk, writing something down.

I pecked at the window twice, Warren's head tilted at the sound. I pecked again, making him look my way. He still couldn't see me though; it was dark outside. Pecking a forth time made him walk towards the window. His eyes fell on the normal, grey looking pigeon outside his bedroom window. He opened his window and backed away so I could come in. I did, and morphed back into my human form.

He stood there, eyeing me up and down, his eyes scanning my form like lasers, seeing right through me. I stood dumbfounded, not quite sure what to say, so I turned back around and shut the window before spinning back on my heel to face him.

He looked distressingly calm. Completely neutral. His expression was making me nerved and bite my lip harder than usual.

"Warren…" I stared, unsure of what words were about to come out. " I- I… I'm really sorry I left. I… I had to." I said weakly.

I paused, waiting for him to say something. He remained unfazed, as if I never even entered the room. I nervously fiddled with my fingers. "We didn't know how close Ash were to finding it. And… We didn't know what **it **was. And… I thought I should've found it before they did." I waited for him to say something again. Nothing. "I know I promised I wouldn't go… I just… It just kind of - _happened."___I tried to explain but all the wrong words were coming. I couldn't think of any that could describe what possessed me to go. "But I also promised I would be careful?" _Stupid mouth.___"And I was. Very." I quickly added. "Look, Warren. I'm fine. I'm really-"

"Parker." I jumped in the air at the sound of his voice. "I made you promise you wouldn't leave so you _couldn't___get into anything." He started. "You're fine _now. _What about next time?"

"There won't be a next time, I pr-"

"Promise? I don't know what your definition of _'promise'_is, Parker, but it's definitely not the same as mine. There might not be an opportunity for a_ 'next time'___but if there is, I'm sure you would go and do it."

"Warren. I'm sorry I left, I shouldn't have scared you. I just-"

"Parker! You don't get it! If something happened to you I wouldn't stop blaming myself!" He paused, anger pooling in his eyes, igniting them in flames. "I thought you were one of those people who had it all worked out, Parker. But obviously I was wrong. Your obviously the kind of person who would be stupid enough to walk _right into _a potential trap and-"

"If you think_ I_have it all worked out, I'd love to know how screwed up your life is!" I yelled back. It was no time to get angry myself; I was meant to be apologising. But that flicked a switch.

Warren paused and calmed is voice a tone, "Wait, I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean?" I questioned, cocking a hip expectantly.

"I mean, it was stupid of you to go. That's what I mean." His voice rose, the anger creeping back.

"Warren! I needed to know more. And I needed to re-hide that-"

"You don't _need___to know. You want to know more."

I paused, stumbling back a bit. "Excuse me?" I asked quietly, anger flushing through my body. "I have spent _most_ of my life trying to work out what happened to the other half of it." I started. " You may not think I _need_to know, but how would you know? With your oh-so-perfect life, I can't imagine how." I could see the steam coming off his shoulders, his fists clenching. And - oddly - I loved it. I loved that he was getting angry; he deserved to be. "You think I'm going to throw away all the work I've done to find out - and when I'm so close to-"

"Yes!" He yelled. I stumbled again, hitting the bottom of his bed with my heal and falling awkwardly onto the end of the bed. "You can't risk your life trying to find out what it was before!"

"Pfft." I spluttered. "If they want me, they're going to get me - even you must know that. I'm not stupid. If they really want me, they_ will _find me. I may as well find out what I can while I can."

"Parker! Stop thinking like that!"

"Come on, Warren. You know it too."

"Parker you-"

"That's not even my name!" I yelled.

"Yes it is."

"No it's not! And it never was!"

"Well, this is good enough for me,-"

"You? You know, not everything revolves around you, Warren!"

He visibly tried to calm himself down, relaxing his hands and his shoulders. "Look, I didn't mean it like that." He said calmer now. It was just annoying me further that he was calming. I wanted him to be angry, like I was. I felt stupid being angry if he wasn't. But I couldn't calm down. "I just want to help, Parker. That's all I want to do."

"Well, you can help me by getting out of my way." I said, noticing he had slowly been moving around so he was blocking the window, my exit.

I got up and tried to get past him, he gently but forcefully pushed me back onto the bed.

"It's killing me not knowing what you're up to." He started. "Could you just tell me what-"

I shook my head, cutting him off. Pausing for a while. My voice was calming down. "I can't do that."

"So, I don't get to know but your math teacher does?"

"What're you saying, Peace?" I asked, seeing he had gotten angrier again.

"Im saying that you trust a stranger more than you trust me."

"Ugh! Mr. Anson, knew all this before** I** did! He know's me better than I do!" I opened my mouth to say something else but I wanted to leave more than anything. I couldn't believe he was saying this.

"Why didn't you tell me this kind of thing before!"

"Because you can't know! I shouldn't have even told you that!" I said, getting angry at myself for slipping the information about Mr. A to him.

"Why can't I know?"

"Because what if they got you too, Peace? If I told you everything, you would be as useful to them as I am! Why can't you see that?"

Bugger the window. I turned before he could say anything else and went for the door. Sub consciously knowing his mom was at work, I stomped down the stairs dark, my head fuming.

"Parker! I can fend for myself! I just want to know so I can help." He yelled after me, coming down the stairs while I was about to reach the door.

"Why?" I asked, spinning on my heel. "Why do you care?"

"Pfft. I know you haven't been acting very smart recently but I hope you can figure out the answer to that question." He shot.

"What's that supposed to mean! You ca-" I was startled out of speech as he took a step towards me - his figure glowing in the spilling moonlight - and grabbed the back of my head, my waist with the other hand. He pushed his body towards me so we were touching and bought my head towards his. My mind was completely short-circuiting as he started kissing me. I completely lost my coherent train of thought. All I knew was I was angry for some forgotten reason, and it only spilled out into the kiss, making it hungry and demanding. I trod on my toes and pushed my body closer to his, wrapping my arms round his muscular back. His hands ran through my hair. It as if we hadn't kissed in a lifetime and were making up for it now.

It felt like the complete right thing to be doing, but I felt like I was betraying myself for some reason? But my lips were burning, my body was on fire, I couldn't think why. Why could this possibly feel like a bad thing to do?

The realisation clicked. The anger came back to me again.

I grew angry with myself for letting him kiss me. It was hard to try to push him away from me because, somewhere in the last minute I had been pushed up against a wall. I managed to push him off, but he still had me pinned to the wall.

"Wait. I'm still angry at you." I panted, though it seemed pointless now, I couldn't even remember why I was angry.

He leaned closer, the moon glistening in his eyes, to whisper into my ear. "Likewise."

I didn't care all of a sudden, and next thing it was me kissing him, bringing myself towards him until it was impossible to get closer. But the space still felt too small. He must've felt that too because he lifted me up. I bought my legs to wrap around his waist, he pressed my back against one of the walls to lean my weight against and kissed me harder.

In the back of my mind, I heard a small click. I ignored it, not caring until I felt a small gush of biting wind hit my side. I opened my eyes a slit. When did the light turn on? I pulled my head away from Warren and looked round. The front door was open and in the doorway stood Sarah - Warrens mom - and behind her, the whole gang were watching us.

I unwrapped my legs from Warren in a heart beat and pushed him away from me. Startled, Warren looked at me with confusion and then at his surroundings - noticing the light had turned on as well.

My face somehow heated up even more so than it had a second ago. It felt like all the blood I possessed had crawled to my cheeks.

I noticed Layla was discreetly signalling to me; patting her hair? Oh! My hair was probably everywhere! I quickly smoothed and flattened it.

Studying the crowed in front of us, Zach and Ethan were smirking, Magenta and Layla were glancing at each other and smiling, Will had his hand in a fist to his mouth, his cheeks bright red from the laughter he was trying to suppress. And I could hardly look at Sarah I was so embarrassed.

I was dying standing there so awkwardly still. I needed to say something. I needed someone to say something.

"Hey guys." I tried with a small wave, my voice cracked awkwardly.

Surprisingly - it was Sarah who started laughing first. Then Will took that as a signal to be allowed to let out the laughter he had been trying so hard to keep in. And, eventually, everyone was keeled over, with laughter. Warren was even laughing a bit at my side., he was watching me and could see how uncomfortable I was.

I was too mortifyingly embarrassed to find anything funny. Warren laughed harder at my expression.

"It's about time!" Zach let out.

"They've been at it for ages, Zach." Will replied. My cheeks were on fire.

"Since when?" He asked.

"The night before valentines."

"Uh. Why didn't you tell me?" Zach asked, offended.

I found the sudden urge to leave hit me. Suddenly remembering Sarah was there, my blush crawled back and I turned to her.

"I'm sorry I came so late. I was just going to apologise to Warren for… something. I'll leave now. Sorry." I apologised and headed towards the door.

She smiled at me. "You come any time, Miya."

I blushed and nodded before walking out with my head hung.

**A/N Again - sorry it's so short.**

**Please review and vote! xxx**

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**Alilrose - Thanks for voting. And I'll try do both. Which one should I start first? About her clothes - I haven't thought that one out. I was wondering the same thing while watching the movie to Ethan's power… xxx**

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	24. ASHA

**A/N Hiya. Sorry for the late update again. Just nag me if it's annoying.**

**Enjoy... xx**

**Wild Ways**

**ASHA**

I looked up from my sketchpad when I felt someone move the chair beside me.

"Hiya." I greeted, focusing back on my current piece of art.

"Higher than you, shorty." He said before slumping into the chair.

"Don't mock my height, that's low Peace."

He held up his hands in defence, wearing a cheeky grin. "Hey, It's not me doing it now."

"Pfft." I tutted then went back to my work.

Before I could make contact with my pencil and paper, the pad was ripped from my grasp.

"Warren! Give it back!" I shrieked and lunged for my sketchbook. He held it out of my grasp.

"Callum?" He shouted across the room.

A blonde, curly haired boy looked up. Warren gestured something I couldn't see. I lunged for the pad again, but was met with a hard thump. Something hard was blocking me. But I saw nothing. I reached out a hand. It made contact with something in the air, invisible. Oh, of corse, Callum was the really annoying one who could make invisible walls. It doesn't sound like such a good power, but is - annoyingly - more effective than you might think.

I slouched back in my chair - knowing it was useless trying to battle the wall to get to Warren. I settled with bestowing him with the harshest glare I could muster. He didn't look up at me though.

"Warren." I said, my voice threatening. "Give me back the book."

He looked at me with a cheeky grin. "Take it." He said, sliding it teasingly across the table, as close as it could get to the barrier without touching it. It was an arm width across from me. He sighed. "I guess I'll hold it for you until you want to take it back." He smirked.

I glared at him.

"Peace…" I trailed off warningly.

He gave me a slide glance before opening the first page. I wondered if there was some kind of animal that could spit acidic saliva and melt the supernatural barrier.

"These are… really good." He muttered, turning the pages slowly.

I gritted my teeth. No one's seen that before.

"Are they just of random things you see?" He asked. "Or did you do them for a reason."

I did. It was like a diary to me. I drew what you would write in a journal. But I wasn't going to tell him that.

Medulla decided to walk in at that moment. The air in front of me shimmered, Callum had taken the wall down. I leaped my body forward and grabbed the pad. I smacked his arm harshly with it and then shoved it deep into my bag.

He winced and rubbed his arm, but he was still smiling in victory. I slouched in a grump. He chuckled at my expression.

"They're really good. You shouldn't be so secretive about them."

I ignored him and pretended to take an interest on whatever Medulla was writing on the board and copied it into my notebook.

He glanced at my notes.

"Why did you pick, Miya?" He asked.

"Why did I pick what?" I asked.

"No. Why did you pick, Miya? The name." He asked., looking at where I had written my name at the top of the page.

I laughed softly to myself. "Why? Do you not like it?" I asked.

'No. It's just that you would usually spell Miya, M-I-A."

I sighed. "It's Japanese."

"I thought you couldn't speak Japanese when you were little." He said.

I nodded. "I couldn't. I had a Japanese nurse when I first woke up. She had a two year old called Miya, meaning temple in Japanese. The nurse would show me pictures and everything. When I was just about well enough to leave the hospital, she had to fly back to Japan. Miya had died of cancer."

"Oh. That's depressing." He stated.

"Mhmm. Please let me know if there are any other antagonistic feelings you have toward my name."

He chuckled softly. "I don't have any. It's a beautiful name."

The bell went just as my blush started to appear. I leapt up and gathered my stuff before heading out, looking down so my hair would cover my cheeks.

Walking down the halls, I caught a flash of grey in the corner of my eye. It went down the direction of the math department.

"Warren." I said, he looked down at me. "I've got go to talk to someone." I said. I didn't want to lie to him again, he would see right through it if I did anyway.

He narrowed his eyes at me before changing the corse of our direction without a word. He stopped at Mr. Anson's door.

"Tell me about it after?" He asked.

I nodded and he walked back the way we'd come. As he turned the corner, I knocked softly on the door before opening it.

"Mr Anson?" I asked, poking my head around the door.

"Ah. Miya, come in."

I stepped out of the doorway.

"Do you mind if I have a quick word?" I asked.

He nodded and gestured for me to sit opposite him.

"What is it?" He asked as I sat down.

"I… I've been a bit curious... recently."

He gave me a knowing look and raised a brow.

"About everything."

He sighed and rested his chin on his palm with a slight, weary smile. "What have you done?"

"Nothing much." I traced the cold edge of the desk with my fingers.

"Meaning…?"

"Well. After Chalk Talk, while I was in hospital they gave me some drugs that could help me remember." He buried his face into his palms, knowing where this was going. "I kinda… borrowed some."

"And?" He asked, looking back up at me.

I rambled a quick description of the drawings and the random elements.

"Do you know what they were?" He asked, leaning forward.

I nodded. "Codes."

His brows knitted together. "I suppose that makes sense…" He muttered to himself.

"What does?"

"That you remembered_ them._" He explained. "What did they mean?"

"The elements were map coordinates. The pictures were-"

"You went to these coordinates didn't you?" He said numbly, his face growing paler.

I looked down and mumbled under my breath. "Mmm."

He hit his hand to his forehead and ran it through his hair. "You shouldn't have gone." He started shaking his head. "You shouldn't have gone."

I studied him carefully. He had stressful, slight wrinkles on his forehead that were deepened from his furrowed brows. His jaw was strong and set. He looked worried, scared even. Why though? Why does this effect him so much?

"Did you find it?" He breathed. I was lost in thought and hardly heard what he had said.

"Mhmm."

He took a deep, painful looking breathe in. "Ms Parker. There are some things you should probably know. There's no point in keeping them from you any longer." He sighed while taking off his glasses. "Your parents and I… We were good friends. And Eric Gray. We were all good friends. After we left Sky High, I went my own way, different profession to the rest of them. Your parents, of corse, decided to work together. Eric joined them . I went off into a career of Mad Science. And your parents…" He trailed off, thinking of a way to try to describe it. "You know the CIA?"

I nodded, not sure what he was getting at.

"Well, there's a small branch of intelligence that links the CIA to the Super Embassy. It works to protect supers. It protects their identity so they can go on protecting civilians. They both became… operatives, for this organisation."

"So…" I cut in. "They were… spies?"

Mr Anson smiled. "Yes. Basically, they were spies. And good one's at that."

I thought of when I was trying to look at the math photo the second time, when Mr Anson caught me in the cupboard. _Nearly there Ms Parker. But not quite._ Was he referring me to my parents?

"What about Eric?"

"Ah. Well, Eric joined your parents and joined the intelligence branch. However, Eric had always been different. Always seemed to appear as the bad guy. Always the villain in Save the Citizen. The bully in the cafeteria. We were friends with him because he was nicer in freshmen year, when we all became friends. We were slowly growing apart from him as he grew more twisted. And, while he was working with the CIA he-"

"- joined Ash?" I finished.

"Precisely."

"Why is that bad? What is Ash?" I asked?

"Well, really, it should be A.S.H.A, but Ash has a nice ring to it. You may have heard of more minor branches of it. But, Ash is basically a unity of villains. An organisation with one goal, which is pretty self explanatory once you know what A.S.H.A stands for."

"… What does it stand for?" I prompted.

"Anti Super Hero Association."

"So… They all want to get rid of heroes?" I asked. Mr Anson nodded. "And that symbol on the roof, the one Eric has, stands for it? Isn't it pretty stupid to wear it around then?" I asked.

Mr A laughed. "Yes. It is. But it was originally a sign of rebellion against the Embassy. It slowly became the symbol for Ash.

"So what happened next?" I asked.

"Well, we all worked for a few years. But, gradually, your parents were noticing something odd about Eric and became suspicious. He was always in the wrong places, and eventually they worked out he had joined Ash. And, Ash being an organisation that wants to get rid of super heroes, having someone working with the CIA branch for the Super Embassy that was working to protect the super heroes, was a massive breakthrough for Ash. And, by the time your parents had worked it out, it was already too late. Eric was already feeding information to Ash about the Embassy, copying information on their computers, sending them passwords. He was bringing it down. And, as a result, dozens of super heroes had began to 'vanish' as their identities were being handed over to Ash."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"We don't know. We still don't know." He shook his head. " But, before Eric could give all the information away about every hero they had data on, it was given to your parents. Your parents had the lives of thousands quite literally in their hands. So they did everything they could to protect it. They travelled around the world with it, changed identity, and, somewhere along the way, they had you."

"So I travelled a lot, that's why I know so many languages?" I asked.

He nodded. "Exactly."

I thought of what Warren I had said under drugs the first time; _I've lived everywhere__**.**_

"And, naturally, you were at large risk of being taken hostage so Ash could use you to make your parents hand over the data, so your parents-."

"Taught me how to fight?" I finished, it all clicking into place. My mind felt like clockwork, the clogs slowly turning and fitting together.

He nodded.

"And, I'm guessing Ash did take me." I asked, thinking about waking up in hospital looking like a punching bag, aged six.

He stared at me solemnly. "They had done such a good job at protecting you. They loved you so much. They asked me if I could come and help keep you safe but, while I was on my way, you were taken. Your parents hid the data before they went and tried to go after you. But- ur… One thing led to another. And they got to you but weren't in the… physical state to get you back out." He sniffed. It was weird seeing a teacher upset but it was completely understandable. Heck, I should be crying my eyes out. But, it didn't seem real. Like I was listening to a story about someone else's life. In my life - I didn't have any parents. My parents never died nor lived in my eyes. "I got you when I came… after your parents had been… been - uh." Mr Anson looked up, not wanting to say the word. _Killed_. "You were in a horrible state when I found you. You had been crying so much there was nothing left to cry out. An eye was completely swollen shut. A foot was… twisted." He shook his head, all the images coming back from the injured six year old. "Your skin was more blue than anything else. I could… I could only think of one thing I could do to help you." His eyes were blurry now.

I was confused. What did he mean _'one thing he could do_'.

"What?" I asked quietly.

He looked up and squeezed his eyes shut before taking a breath and meeting my gaze again. " I knew Ash weren't going to forget you. With your parent's dead, the only person who could possibly know where they had hidden the data, was you." He paused. "You have got to understand my reasons for doing this so, after I tell you, think it through. You were only six and, had seen stuff that no six year old should have to see. Ever. One of those included your parents' death's. And, I knew you weren't going to be forgotten by Ash. You were going to be a large target for them. They needed you so they could find the data."

"And I'm guessing the picture I drew, all the elements I were reciting, they were what my parents wanted me to know more than anything?" I asked.

He nodded. "Knowing your parents, they would have drilled that information into your small head every waking hour, that's why you remembered. Anyway, I knew you were always going to be a necessity to Ash. And the only way to hide you from them - to keep you safe - was to"

"Erase my memory." I gasped.

* * *

**A/N. Again - sorry it's not my longest chapter.**

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	25. I See Dead Pixels

**A/N Hi guys. I am super sorry for the outrageously late update! Seriously - if I'm taking too long, give me a push! I kind of… don't forget about it but it get's lower on my priority list the more work I get. So just ask me why it's taking so bloody long and i'll get writing!**

**NOTE - btw, I have NEVER played World of Warcraft before, so sorry if I get this description completely wrong. It just seemed to fit with the scene? So tell me if there is no 'Shadow Bolt' (that was something I picked off of the internet, or if none of this makes sense - because it probably won't...**

**Try and enjoy anyway...**

**Wild Ways**

**I See Dead Pixels**

"Rule number one of _World of Warcraft_." Ethan said. He sat propped up against a pile of pillows leaning against the foot of his bed on the floor, his laptop - that had many different stickers standing for various computer games on the top - balancing on his thighs. He was wearing a shirt that said I SEE DEAD PIXELS and a pair of jeans with a hole ripped in one knee. I lay beside him, my head supported on my elbow and eyes just level with the computer screen on Ethan's legs. "Never screw with the Dwarfs in green that carry war hammers."

"Why? Are they better fighters than the Dwarfs in blue that carry war hammers?" I teased, taking a handful of the remaining bits of popcorn at the bottom of the bowl that was wedged between us. "Are those guys hugging?"

"That's not hugging. They're trying to kill each other." He said, rapidly tapping commands into his keyboard. "Why would they be hugging with outstretched daggers?"

"I don't know. _Guys_ confuse me, mythical warlock guys, even more so." I shrugged, tilting my head back and dropping the popcorn into my mouth before peering back at the screen. "What's he doing now?"

"They're still fighting. He made a Shadow Bolt, a Direct Damage spell."

"A spell? Is he magical or something?"

He chuckled lightly. "Yes, actually. That's what warlocks tend to be."

"What's the buff, macho one then?"

"He's the same one we were fighting last time." He explained, turning to glance at me briefly. "A Draenei Hunter."

"Ah." I said, crunching at my popcorn and staring meditatively at the screen that flashed with brilliant swirling blue's and smoking green clouds. The 'spells' Ethan's warlock was throwing at the other guy seemed to be working, I got the vibe he was dyeing from all the red that was flashing everywhere. They reminded me of the vibrant chemicals we mixed in Mad Science. They made me wonder how long it had taken for my teacher to brew the potion that eradicated my childhood.

It had been two weeks since I had found out Mr. Anson had erased my memory. I remembered walking out of his office, feeling… hollow. Empty. Disorientated. So disorientated that I had walked right into Warren. He had held me for what seemed like hours. I don't remember feeling anything then. I don't remember breathing, moving, thinking. Just still. Everything was on pause. I had always thought that whatever monstrous beast had banished my memories had been the bad guys. People I could blame it on. I couldn't blame anything on the one guy who tried to help me throughout it all. But it felt so… twisted. Wrong. The good guy couldn't have done something so horrible for… _good_. In my eyes - the exile of my memories could never have been a good thing. Now that I knew it was, I didn't know what to think. I knew it was the right thing for him to have done but couldn't help thinking it was really, quite the opposite.

Since then, he had tried to speak to me a few times after class, but I had pretended not to hear him call after me and carried on out into the corridor. I wasn't angry at him. Well, anymore. I was angry at him to begin with. But since then, I had calmed down. The gang had talked it though with me. Warren was helping me spot Mr A's logic to make it easier to understand.

"Shall I get some more popcorn?" Ethan asked.

I laughed "That would be our forth bowl. My jeans won't fit me soon."

"Get some elasticated ones then." He smirked. "I'm getting some more." He said, pausing the screen and reaching for the bowl that only now had a pool of salt at the bottom.

Ethan's room was large and had a double bed in the centre. The walls were white and hung posters of different bands on them. In one corner was an impressive collection of electrical guitars and another was a small, wooden desk with another computer on it with bits of paper sprawled all over it. I looked around at the evidence of my few hours of being at Ethan's house; the floor surrounding our little pillow arrangement was littered with potato chip packets and Coke can's. Layla and Will had gone off together for the weekend, Magenta was at a wedding, Zach was at his cousin's house and Warren was at work. So it was just Ethan and I. Which was fine with me. I was grateful for the lazy day - I needed one.

As he headed back to the kitchen, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey, Miya." Greeted a familiar voice.

"Oh hey, Bella. I haven't heard from you in a while. Did you hear I'm moving back into the orphanage tomorrow?"

"No. That's great!" Came an excited squeal front the other end of the line. "I was wondering if you wanted to meet up this evening?"

I was meant to be seeing Warren this evening - right after his shift. But I had blown off Bella too many times recently and hadn't seen her in ages. Warren wouldn't mind.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed enthusiastically. "Where did you have in mind?"

"I'll meet you at the park and we can go get some dinner or something?"

"Okay. When?"

"Are you free now?"

I looked around, not having noticed that Ethan was back in the room with a full bowl of popcorn. He nodded - as if knowing what she had asked.

"Okay. See you there." I said and flipped the phone shut.

"Who was that?" Ethan asked, his mouth full with popcorn. "Was it Warren?"

I shook my head. "Bella. She wants me to meet her at the park." He nodded in acknowledgement. "I just need to ring Warren to say I can't see him tonight."

I flipped my phone back open and my thumbs tapped in the familiar number I could have done blindfolded.

"Hello?" An exhausted sounding Warren greeted.

"Hey, it's me."

"Oh, hey." His tone lifted and my stomach fluttered slightly.

"You know how we were going to meet up tonight?" I asked. "Well, Bella called and I thought since I hadn't seen her in a while…"

"You want to go see her?" He sounded fine about it but there was a small bit of disappointment hidden in his tone that was almost impossible to hear over the phone, but I did, and it made me feel guilty. "You should see her. It would do you good."

"I can see you afterward. We're just going to have dinner."

"Really?" His tone brightened again and this time I couldn't help smiling, grateful he couldn't see it over the phone.

"Yeah. I'll come over to your's after, I promise. See you then?"

"Yeah. See you then."

* * *

"Bella" I called over to her. She was lazily sitting on a low-seated swing, her light blonde hair dangling in front of her, covering her face. She reminded me of an angel with her light blue-faded jeans and white leather jacket. Her head tilted upwards at the sound of my voice and she jumped off the swing with the kind of grace I could only wish for. She headed toward us, her hair whipping around her neck with the wind."You've met Ethan, haven't you?"

She smiled slightly and looked up at Ethan, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her pale cheeks. She nodded quickly and then looked back down.

"Hi." Ethan greeted.

"Hi." She mumbled back, looking down at her nails.

"Bella?" She tilted her head to look at me "Are you alright?"

"Mhmm." She said and then looked back towards her nails.

"Okay… do you want to go then?" I asked confusedly; why was she acting odd?

She nodded gratefully and looked back up to Ethan.

"Bye, Ethan." She said delicately.

He nodded at her with a smile, dug his hands deep into his pockets, and turned to walk the way we'd come.

"You ready?" I asked, snapping her out of her trance.

She shook her head, as if waking herself up. "Yeah. Let's go." She said. I started to walk back to the road, toward the street with the restaurant we like to go to. She grabbed my elbow gently. "I know a short cut. Follow me."

She strode purposefully toward the other end of the park, toward the edge of the forrest, I had to do a little jog to catch up with her. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"What? Nothing." She said quickly. "Nothing's wrong. Why?"

"You were acting…" I tried to think of a word. Uncomfortable? Awkward? Thoughtful?

"Like a moron? I tend to do that around cute guys."

That took me aback. I looked up at her. "You think Ethan's cute?"

"Well… yeah." She said quietly. "You don't?"

I walked to catch up with her again. Ethan? The first time I saw him, he was a scrawny little teenager with slight acne on his forehead. Now that I think about it, he had changed. He had grown. He was much more muscly. His hair had gotten lighter and he had started to wear contacts more often now.

"I guess so." I shrugged. "But you like him?" I asked.

Her flawless cheeks turned a subtle shade of scarlet and her hair fell in front of her face. "I guess so." She smiled nervously. "This way." She added, turning direction slightly.

I smiled. "You should talk to him. I could invite you to some of our little homework get-together thing's." I said as we walked around a large oak tree. I hadn't really been taking in our surrounding's since we had entered the forrest from the park. The sun had just set below the horizon now, letting the sky glow in a dark shade of lilac but the tree's made the forrest darker, casting long, dark, thick fingers on the floor. We were stepping over hedges and trampling down nettles, off the path now. "Are you sure this is a shortcut?" I asked.

She nodded slightly and made a low, uncertain mumble. I looked at her and noticed her face had darkened, her eyes had dark rings around them. She looked upset, sick even.

"I can talk to him if you would like?" I offered, straddling over a fallen tree trunk. "I mean, if you're too nervous, I could-"

"No. It's fine." She assured.

"Then why are you upse-."

'I'm fine!" She insisted harshly. I nearly tripped over a log in surprise at her tone. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap." She added quietly.

"It's okay." I wasn't going to ask why she had snapped - which was _very _unlike her. Bella - the teenager who practically looked after a whole orphanage by herself and never lost her temper - did not '_snap'_ for nothing

The forrest enveloped us now, hiding us from the roaring life of city. There was only us and the low hum of birds. The foliage was growing thicker and taller. It felt nice to be further away from the smell of car exhaust and dirt. It smelt so fresh out here - like cut grass. We were completely alone. It looked deserted, as if no one had ever been there before. It was darker too. So dark I could hardly see the woodland floor. It was only then that I realised we weren't even heading in the right direction to town.

"Umm, Bella. I think we must have taken a wrong turning or something. I-" I stopped short when I looked up at her. Even in this light, it was hard to miss the fact that her eyes were full with water and tears were streaming down her cheeks, reflecting whatever light it could. I stopped walking. "Oh, Bella. What's wrong?" I asked sympathetically, concern showing through my tone. I moved towards her reassuringly, but - to my surprise- she stepped further away.

She started to back up slowly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Miya." She said quietly, so quietly I thought I had misheard.

"What?" I asked confusedly.

"I am _so _sorry." She whispered.

It was the last thing I heard before something hit my head from behind, I fell to the ground, the darkness instantly swallowing me up and closing my eyes.

**A/N Ooooh. Tension! What are you thinking Bella?!**

**Rema - Thank you so much for all those tips - I'll bear them in mind. Thank you so much for telling me! xxx**

**Shika 93 - Thank you for reviewing! xxx**

**Bluemist7651- Oh thank you! Really? What kind of thing would you like from it? I'm so glad you think so! And am really happy you like it. Thank you! xxx**

**Kovy- Cloest Romantic - Aw thank you so much! Just tell me if they take to long to come up, I don't mind a little push! xxx**

**Guest - Thank you so much for telling me it was jumbled! I had absolutely no idea. Is it fixed now? I think I fixed it but I'm not sure (computer's confuse me like rocket science confuses four year olds). Thank you so much for letting me know and is so glad you liked it! xxx**

**peachykeen234- You're so right! That would be so cute! And I kind of imagine them having a son too. It's weird how thing's get accidentally implied… Thanks for reviewing! They all make me really happy! xxxx**


	26. Isabelle

**A/N. Hey. Sorry - this is a short chapter but I felt it kinda had to stop where it did. Next one should be up as soon as I can. But it's exam week, week after next so don't panic if I don't. I will probably do one before exam week. (And it's my birthday next thursday - so that's a bit of a distraction also.)**

**Hope you enjoy…. You can tell me if you do… Really. I don't mind. At all. **

**Wild Ways **

**Isabelle**

****Miya POV

"Don't move," a gentle voice whispered.

My body was rocking slightly, almost soothingly. The kind of rocking that could drown you into sleep. My head was throbbing, amplifying my heart beat. As I moved in discomfort, a rush of white-hot pain seared through me. A delicate hand touched my shoulder to stop me from moving further.

"Stay still. You'll make it worse."

I blinked and swallowed, my vision spun and my eyes burnt. My throat felt as if it were full of sand. I tried to sit up, but the hand eased me back down gently onto the hard, cold floor. I looked up to see a blurry face and unmistakable blonde hair.

"Bella?" I almost choked on the two syllables.

"Shh." She held a finger to her lips and then bought a water bottle up to my mouth. "Here. You're dehydrated." Her hand moved from my shoulder to the back of my neck, raising it carefully so I could sip at the water. The warm, foul tasting liquid bought instant relief to my throat.

"What am I doing here?" I asked looking around the dark space. My groggy vision couldn't stretch beyond the darkness, I couldn't see anything but Bella's pale features. Ice ran up my arms and sprouted goosebumps on the surface of my skin. It was freezing. My body was still rocking and I could hear a faint hum of an engine. I then knew to modify my question. "What am I doing _where_?"

"We're in the back of a lorry." She replied quietly.

"A _lorry_?" I asked, sitting up too quickly. My head swam and my throat burnt. Instinctively, I tried to bring my hand to my head from the pain, but wasn't surprised to find it chained at the wrist.

"You don't remember, do you?" She whispered.

"Of corse I do." I said. "I'm just disorientated."

"Oh." Bella said. "Then why are you-"

"Not mad at you?" I finished. "I figured you should have the chance to explain yourself."

Bella looked down at me and smiled gratefully but sadly. I lay back down, it was too much effort to stay sitting up. Bella rolled and moved to lie down next to me, so we were face to face. "Is your head okay?" She asked ruefully. I could feel her breath on my face.

"I'll live," I assured. "What _did _hit me?" I asked.

"Shh." She put a finger to her lips again. "I'm not meant to be talking to you." I blinked in understanding, not wanting to nod. "Someone came up behind you with a brick. It was so scary, you were bleeding. You might want to get it checked out once you get out of here."

"Did they cuff me? Can I use my powers?" I asked, looking down at my hands.

"Powers?" Her face twisted in confusion.

"Yeah." I looked up at her. "Can I use them?" She stared at me like a mad man.

"I think you must have hit your head a little harder than I th-"

"You don't know?" I asked.

"What?"

"Oh. I just assumed you knew." I said. "Didn't they tell you?" I asked. She shook her head, her confusion deepening. "Well I guess it kind slipped it out then, you may as well know. I can shape-shift."

Her eyes widened. "You're super?" She exclaimed, forgetting to keep her voice down.

I nodded. "Did they inject me with anything?" I asked, noticing I wasn't wearing any bracelet with lethal spikes.

Her brows knitted, then she nodded. "Yeah. They did. On the arm. I thought it was just to keep you asleep but I guess you don't really need a sleeping drug if your already unconscious…"

I cursed silently in Arabic. "Anyway. Do you want to tell me what happened? Why did you give me in?"

Her face paled. "Im sorry, Miya. I'm really sorry. I had to." She said with desperation. "For Ethan." She added silently.

My eyes narrowed and my head throbbed harder, "_What?_" I exclaimed.

"Shh." She insisted.

"Oh, sorry.**" **I tried again quieter, "_What_?"

"We used to go out." She explained, then added, "We still our, technically..."

My eyes narrowed again. "He never said anything-"

"He doesn't remember." She explained. The words sounded painful for her to say.

"I don't understand…" I trailed off.

"He was hypnotised into forgetting." She said, her eyes pooling with building up tears. "Ethan doesn't remember anything. And… he said they were - were going to-" she hiccupped, "kill him. If I didn't help them get you."

"Why didn't he say anything about you before then?" I asked.

"You didn't know him before he was hypnotised into forgetting me. It was a punishment for not joining Ash earlier." She explained before adding as an afterthought, "And for running away. I'd rather be at the orphanage than with them."

"Running away? A punishment? I thought being a member of Ash was optional." I noted.

Her face darkened and she stared at me intensely. Her serious ice-blue eyes looked old. Freckles dusted almost invisibly on her nose and at the top of her cheeks, but - unlike mine - they suited her and looked as though they were individually placed to make her look even more prettier than she already was. "Not for me."

My brows furrowed, it didn't make sense; surely if they wanted loyal members they wouldn't force people into it? I was about to say this aloud when the truck stopped and the engine was cut off.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_'Ethan?"_

_"Warren? Is that you?" A tired voice came muffled through the phone line._

_"Yeah."_

_The phone buzzed with a static sounding sigh from Ethan. "What do you want at… twelve thirty at night?"_

_"Do you know where Parker is?" I asked, trying to conceal my concern._

_Another sigh. "I'm pretty sure this is what's described as being an over protective boyfriend."_

_ "But does that rule apply when your girlfriend is wanted by people who's lives are devoted to killing her kind?" I asked._

_There was a pause. "You're right. Sorry, I'm tired. What's happening?"_

_"She was meant to meet me and isn't answering her phone…" I trailed off._

_"What about the others?" He asked._

_"They all haven't seen her either."_

_"Did you try Bella?"_

_"Bella? I don't have her number." I said. "Why? Do you?"_

_"Yeah. Miya must've put it in my phone." He said. "But, I rung her earlier because Miya wasn't picking up and she left her jacket at my house. She must be freezing. Anyway, Bella's phone was off." He remembered. "Is it possible Miya just stayed for a sleepover or something?"_

_I paused. "No. They live at an orphanage."_

_"Oh. Yeah." Ethan stammered. "I forgot about that."_

_"Okay. The others are all looking for her. Can you look around the park? Im going to the orphanage. Meet at Will's if you find her or not."_

_"Okay. See you at Will's."_

* * *

Miya POV

Bella scrambled up off the floor and swiftly moved over to sit on a bench at the other end of the lorry - where she was meant to be.

My eye's flickered shut as I heard bolts unlocking the doors at the end of the truck. Moonlight cut through as the rusting doors slid open. I opened my eyes to slits - enough so I could see what was happening but not enough to know I was awake.

"She still unconscious?" A deep voice asked gruffly. It came from a large, bulbous man who had just stepped into the lorry, followed by four other men.

"Yes." Bella's voice came up from behind me. "She hasn't stirred yet."

The large man grunted and a man from behind him walked up to me with a pair of hand cuffs. I tried not to pull away - deeply fearing they had spikes in them. But as he picked up my floppy arms and slid the cuffs on, I was relieved to know that they were, in fact, just normal handcuffs. He unlocked the chain I was already tied with and bent to pick me up. I tried not to tense as my head screamed in pain from the disturbance of position.

The other men all split up to make way for another man who was walking up into the truck. This man, a silhouette against the moon behind him, was taller than the other men and skinnier. He walked with a grace I recognised as someone else's. Each stride had it's own purpose as he made his way up to me., each footstep echoing in the enclosed space. He walked eerily slowly, like a lion would stalk his prey. I hoped the man holding me couldn't feel my heart beat quickening. Closer now, I could make out features. He had brushed back, slick black hair and a sharp, angular face. His eyes were a familiar ice blue. I probably would have found him good looking, if it weren't for the situation. And had I not recognised him as Eric Gray.

He stopped a foot away from me and looked down at my limp body. I could feel his gaze as it assessed my form up and down, like you might scan a piece of meat at a supermarket. His gaze stopped, my heart quickened. He was looking right at me. Right into my half-closed eyes. He knew I wasn't unconscious. He knew I was awake.

"You go by Miya Parker now, don't you?" I remained still. He chuckled lightly. His lips slowly crept into a smile. Electrical blue eyes like ice-shards. A pale, delicate hand reached for one of my hands and he bent down, leaning over my body. His cool lips lightly kissed the top of my hand, the contact seemed to physically sting. It burnt right through my skin and to the bone. He stepped away, eyes like daggers still intently looking at mine, the smile creeping back onto his face. "Well, I am _honoured_ to have finally met you, Ms. Parker."

His gaze never wavered from my eyes until he looked up to the man who was holding me. "Take her to the interrogating room. Make her write the letter first, we don't want anyone worrying about where she is for a while." He looked back down to me. "I hope you like your accommodation. We made it specially for you. We try to be as welcoming as possible."

The man holding me walked toward the door of the truck.

"Isabelle?" Eric called. Bella stepped out sheepishly from behind the burly men, hugging her arms against the cold, frostbitten air. "Can you go make me some coffee, please? We have a long night ahead of us."

Bella looked at me with scared eyes then back to Eric.

"Yes, Farther."

* * *

**A/N. Farther…?!**

**Again - sorry this was a short chapter. Next one will be soon hopefully.**

**I was talking about Bella's freckles earlier - it reminded me of something a 6yr old said (in my little sisters class) to another girl who was complaining about her freckles and how it made her look ugly. The boy said "A girl without freckles is like a night with no stars."... How ****_cute_**** is that? He's going to have a bunch of girlfriends when he's older...**

**~Review Reply~**

**Vampireprincessofempire- ****_I know right. But she has her reasons. Thanks for reviewing! xxx_**

**Kovy- Closet Romantic - ****_Ha ha! You're so right. Wait and see… xxx_**

**Guest - ****_Aw. Thank you so much. You're reviews made me laugh. I'm glad you feel that way. Well - I'm glad _**_I can __**make you feel that way. Thank you so much! Xxx**_


	27. Gonzales

**A/N. Whooo! Finished exams! And turned fifteen! Such a hectic three weeks! Anyone else been doing any exams lately? They suck. I almost definitely failed my maths, wish I could have Miya's brain… Anyway. How did you guys do? If you did any that is. If you didn't, well I bet thats just ****_great_** **for you.**

**Oh- and I break up for summer hols this weekend... which means more updates! **

**Enjoy.. xx**

**Wild Ways**

**Gonzales**

* * *

_**Warren, **_

_**I know I was going to meet you. And I'm sorry but, change of plans, had to go sort something out back in Spain. Didn't have time to tell the others so I'll leave that to you if you want to. I'm going to be away for a while. Don't worry about me though, I'll be careful.**_

_** See you soon. **_

_**Lots of love, Miya **_

_**Xxx**_

* * *

_Will POV_

_"Ooh. She put little kisses at the bottom for you, Warren." Zach teased, nudging Warren with his elbow repeatedly._

_"She's going again!" Layla threw up her hands. "I can't believe this! I can't believe she didn't tell us earlier. I can't believe she even left in the first place!" _

_"I know, right! You would think she would have learn't from how pissed we were last time she went." Magenta agreed, flopping exasperatedly onto the couch in Will's sitting room._

_"What I don't get," Ethan chimed in, "is what made her need to go. She already got what she needed from Spain." He trailed off, looking down at the floor in thought._

_"You don't suppose there's any chance she took her phone, do you?" Zach asked. In reply, everyone turned their heads toward Zach and stared at him in unison. "No? I didn't think so either." _

_"If she doesn't want to be found. There's not much chance we will be able to." Ethan said. "She doesn't exactly leave us much clue's does she?"_

_I turned to look at Warren. He was sitting on a couch by himself in the far end of the room, his head resting on his hand and slightly tilted so he could look out of the window and into the night. He didn't look as though he were paying any attention to the discussion at all. _

_He had walked into the living room drenched from the rain. Not looking angry like he was last time, just upset. He had just given us the note and made his way to the sofa to watch the rain outside the window without saying a word since he entered. _

_"She doesn't have very neat handwriting." Zach noted. "It looks like a four year old wrote it for her."_

_Magenta moved to elbow him when she saw the note for herself. "Yeah. You would imagine a brainiac like her would have better handwriting." She commented lightly, tilting her head to the side to see the picture better._

_Warren's head snapped forward suddenly, surprising all of us. "What did you say?" He asked quietly._

_Zach looked up to Warren, "Just that you're girlfriend doesn't have very readable handwriting."_

_Warren got up quickly and moved to grab the note._

_"It's not something-to-worry-about bad." Zach said assuringly in response to the urgency of Warren's action. "It just need's neatening. Maybe she could work on her joining-up letters and-"_

_"They're written in lower case." Warren interrupted._

_"Yeah - well, you're kind of meant to join you're letters when you write in the lower-"_

_"No." Warren cut. "She never writes in lower case."_

_"What do you mean?" Layla asked._

_"She alway's writes in capitals." He explained._

_"She could just be trying it out." Ethan suggested. "She could be trying to start writing normally."_

_Warren shook his head. "It's possible. But she doesn't like it. Look how much effort this took to write." He said, turning the letter so we could all see. The ink was a dark blue that had obviously had a pen pressed down hard into the paper. The letters all looked wriggly and disjointed, unnatural._

_"What are you saying then?" Layla asked._

_"I don't know." He shook his head slowly. "She could have been trying to say something."_

_"She could have been kidnapped by Ash." Zach suggested suddenly._

_Warren audibly drew in a breath at Zach's words and tried to cover it with a hasty cough. I moved over to him to pat him on the shoulder once he'd recovered from a minor coughing fit. "It's okay. We'll find her." I said quietly, only so he could hear. He nodded slightly._

_"What should we do?" Layla asked uncertainly._

_I spoke up, "I think we should wait until tomorrow." Warren's shoulder tensed under my hand at the word 'tomorrow'. I spoke before he could protest, "We can go ask Principle Powers what she's heard about Miya's absence. Miya must have made some excuse to miss school."_

_"I don't think we should wait that long." Warren said._

_"Well, have you got any other idea's?" I asked. Not hastily, but so he would realise we couldn't do much this late at night. "And it's actually today really anyway, it's already two thirty in the morning." I pointed. "We should all get some sleep first. School's in a few hours."_

* * *

_Warren POV_

_Every time I thought about it, it was like something stabbed my stomach. Just the mere thought that she might have been taken terrified me. I had tried so hard to keep her safe. Knowing Parker, it's very possible she just might of had another urgent need to go off to another country with no warning. But the possibility of her kidnapping rung in the back of my mind like a church bell, making it impossible not to think about. Impossible to go to sleep._

_I had stayed up the rest of the morning sitting at my laptop, the typing line flashing constantly in the search bar of Google. I hadn't typed anything, just watched it, thinking of something to type. Anything that might help me find her. But nothing ever came to mind._

_I stepped out onto the grass of Sky High from the bus and walked over to the colourful group of people I had grown to know and love, because of Parker. Before Parker, I hadn't been talking to them much after homecoming._

_"Hey War-" Zach started, then looked up at me, "Whoa. You look like the walking dead."_

_"Zach! Don't say-" Magenta started then turned to me, "Did you have a shower this morning? You stink."_

_"Wow. I truly have some amazing friends." I said dryly. "Really, I couldn't wish for any better one's."_

_"So what's the plan?" Layla asked and turned her head to look up at Will._

_He reached an arm out to her and hooked her around the waist to draw her into his chest, then bent down to kiss the top of her head. The thing in my stomach decided to stab me again. "I was thinking we could go ask Power's before school starts." He suggested. "So, now?"_

_I nodded my head abruptly, glad to finally be doing something. Something that could possibly ease the pain in my stomach._

_I turned, about to head back into the school when I bumped into somebody._

_"Sorry." I muttered instinctively. _

_"That's okay." _

_I looked down to a short, extremely blonde girl who wore bright yellow trousers , a purple top with a green waist coat. _

_"You're Warren Peace." She stated, tilting her head to the side._

_"Uh. Yeah." I answered uncertainly. I tried to side step and move past the girl but she moved to block my way. "What do you want?" I asked non to politely. "I've got something I need to -"_

_"Yeah. I guess you're pretty busy." She interrupted. "With Miya missing and all that…" She trailed off._

_I stared at the small blonde. I had seen her face before, around school. She had played Save the Citizen with Parker a few times. I grabbed her shoulder. "What do you know about Parker?" I whispered fiercely._

_"Whoa." The girl said, then ducked under my arm. "No need to combust, fire boy." _

_"What do you know about Miya?" Will asked, coming around from behind me._

_"As much as you do." She said calmly._

_"How? Did she tell you?" Zach asked confusedly. "I didn't think you were that close."_

_"She didn't tell me." The blonde said. "I found out."_

_"How?" Layla asked in alarm._

_The girl smiled innocently. "My power has developed recently," she begun. " I can send my elves places and they have their own minds. They are more real. They're still in my command but they can do things by themselves now as well. Like listening."_

_"Wait." Will said, "So, you sent you're elves to eavesdrop on our conversations?"_

_The girl nodded as if it were nothing to hide. "I wanted to go talk to her about our assignment. But, she went off into the wood's with some girl. I thought -"_

_"Into the woods with a girl?" I asked._

_She nodded, "Blonde, about this tall," She gestured with her hands. "Pretty."_

_"Bella?" Ethan asked in surprise. "They were going out for dinner, not into the woods."_

_"Maybe they wanted a picnic," the girl shrugged. "Anyway, I thought I would ask you," She nodded at Will, "because you're the only other person I actually know of in our Health and Hazard's class. I went by you're house and you were on the phone to inferno boy here." She nodded at me, "it looked kind of interesting by your reaction. And - sorry for my inquisitive instincts - but an elf went off and listened."_

_"You mean, you sent off an elf to listen?" Will asked._

_She nodded. "But Phil would only tell me what you were saying if it was worth hearing. And - what he gathered - was that Miya was missing and you were meeting later. So Phil told me and stayed at your house to wait until you all got there."_

_"Phil is the elf, right?" Maj asked, Clove nodded. __"So you heard our whole meeting last night?" She asked disbelievingly._

_The girl nodded. "Though, I didn't understand much. When did she go to Spain the last time? And what is an ash?"_

_I rolled my eyes, "Well, I guess now you know that it's very important that you get out my way." I said impatiently, moving to get around her._

_"Wait, Warren. What should we do with her?" Will asked, gesturing to the irritating blonde girl._

_"I can help you." She offered._

_"I don't know." I shrugged, "Tell her the rest, I guess. I'm fine with getting more help. " I turned back to the main building of Sky High._

_ "Layla, you stay and explain it to her," Will said. "Everyone else, lets go speak to Power's."_

* * *

_The last time I had been in the large, circular, vanilla-and-rose smelling office of Principle Power's, I was beside Parker - whom was in a wheelchair at the time - being told that we had handled Ash's first encounter with us well. Back when we thought they wanted Ashley instead of Parker. I would give almost anything for that to be the case. That I were here with Parker and it wasn't her who was in any danger. _

_"So." Power's asked from the other side of her desk. The gang were all standing awkwardly around the two armchairs that sat in front of the desk. "What do all of you lot need?" She asked politely._

_Will spoke up first, "Miya Parker? Do you know where she is? Did she call in, or-"_

_"Yes." Power's cut off, "She was called in sick this morning."_

_"Who called?" I asked._

_"A man from her orphanage, I believe."_

_"What did he say exactly?"Ethan asked._

_Power's eyed each of us individually before speaking, "I don't see how this is anything to be here for. You could be asking her this yourself." She said. "At least one of you must have a phone on you."_

_"She's not answering." Will replied quickly._

_"Well. I don't think she's going to be in for a while. She has an infectious virus." Power's deadpanned. "That's what the man said."_

_Will looked back at us, giving each of us a look. "Okay." He said, turning back to Power's. "Thank you. Sorry to bother you. We were just… concerned."_

* * *

_"A man?" Layla asked. _

_"Yeah." Will answered, having just explained to Layla what Power's had said, "She said a man called in for her."_

_Layla's face darkened and her eyes dropped to the floor as her shoulders tensed. My insides seemed to freeze at her reaction. "Layla?" I asked, putting a harsh hand on her shoulder."What is it?"_

_Before she could answer the blonde, Clove, beside her spoke up, "The receptionist is a women." She said, "If Miya could get anyone to ring in for her, it would be her. No men work at the orphanage anyway."_

_Zach turned to her, "So, if she did get someone to call, they wouldn't be from the orphanage?"_

_Layla nodded in reply and my stomach lurched. Nothing was pointing in the right direction. _

_"Then what do the orphanage think?" I thought aloud. "They must think she's gone for some reason. Right?"_

_"Right. Let's go see what they say." Ethan agreed._

_Everyone turned to go back to the bus but, before I could walk so much as a step, there was a hand on my shoulder._

_"Warren?" Will asked, "You okay?"_

_I turned to look down at him intently, my eyes stinging with exhaustion. He looked worried and empathetic. Taking a deep breath, I replied, "No." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "What if something happened to her? I -"_

_Will cut in, as if having read my mind, "You haven't done anything wrong."_

_ "I should've kept a closer eye on her," I interrupted, "I should have picked her up instead of letting her walk to my house."_

_Will stared at me, "You can't be with her at every moment," He reminded, "And she could have even been with Bella at the time, maybe she wasn't even left alone." He put a hand on my shoulder, and told me sternly and clearly, "It is not you're fault."_

_I kept my gaze locked onto his eyes before turning around and heading to the bus._

* * *

_I had always thought the orphanage was a shabby, mournful place to live before I knew Parker. The outside was grey with bits of paint peeling off towards the bottom, the roof was a few shades darker than the walls with missing tiles. A few windows were blocked out on the first and third floor and there was litter scattered in the un-kept grass that was surrounding the entrance to the miserable-looking building. _

_But, once I knew her, and I had actually gone inside, my first impressions were mostly obliterated. The lobby was a large, marble floored room with a round oak desk in line with the front door. The only thing that would fit the impression given off by the look of the exterior of the building (forlorn, crestfallen and depressing), was the old, cranky women that was always hiding in the room at the back, behind the desk_

_Layla was the first to step in and stride up to the wooden desk to ring the bell. The mole poked it's head out of it's hole, then the rest of her body followed and she walked towards us, putting her spectacles on that were hung on a beaded string around her neck. She smelt of cigarettes and old-lady._

_"What do you lot want?" She grunted. _

_"Hiya, Ms…" Layla trailed off as she not-so-descreetly peeked at the name that was engraved into a cheap plaque on the desk, "Evison. Do you remember me? I'm Layla, Miya Parker's friend," Layla smiled blindingly._

_The women, Ms Evison, glared at Layla, scanning her body up and down with her beady eyes that were almost completely black. "Yes," she groaned, "What can I help you with to make my company worthy of your precious time?" She asked sarcastically. _

_Layla's smile didn't waver from the spiteful vibes radiating off of Ms Evison. She seemed to be oblivious to their existence. "We were wondering if Miya's in?"_

_The lady stared long and hard at Layla before answering with a blunt, "No."_

_"Do you know where she went?" Layla asked, still smiling._

_The women frowned and sighed, "She's on a school trip. Somewhere in China or something."_

_Layla frowned, "Did she tell you this in person?" She asked._

_The old women took a deep breath, "Look girly, I'm getting quite bored of your pestering me. I have a bunch of-"_

_"We'll go." I interrupted, "If you tell us this, we'll leave. But until then…" I trailed off._

_The women snapped her head toward me and narrowed her eyes. She glared at me then she sighed again, "A man called from the school about a week ago asking if she could go on this school trip for, a week or two, or something? We got a postcard from her yesterday from some place in Asia. Got it?"_

_I frowned, a week ago?_

_"What about Bella?" Ethan asked, "Is she out too?"_

_The lady shrugged, "Her dad pulled her out for a bit."_

_"Her dad?" Clove repeated, "I thought this was an orphanage," she pointed, looking around the building in wonder, as if she hadn't realised she had been standing in it for the past two minutes._

_The lady rolled her eyes, "Her dad don't want her, or she don't want her dad. Either way, the brat stays here." She said, "Now, we had a deal. Out." She said, lifting her frail, freckled hand to point out the door._

* * *

_"A week ago?" Layla repeated as we left the orphanage and walked back out into the cold. My footsteps felt heavy and loud as they followed the other's on the paved sidewalk. "Something is definitely wrong there."_

_Ethan nodded, my throat tightened, "Yeah. She left suddenly without any warning. It said on the letter she 'didn't have time to tell' us, suggesting she left in a hurry, and not having planned it a week before." He pointed, "Additionally, it is slightly worrying that it was a man that called. I can't think of any man she could have persuaded to ring the orphanage and the school."_

_"Mr.A?" Magenta asked hopefully._

_"No, the school would have known. The school receptionist has the power of voice recognition."_

_Layla looked down at her shoes and laced her fingers into Will's, "It's not looking so good." She said quietly._

_I stopped walking, the others copied. None of us felt like walking. How could I? I fell into the bench that was closest and dropped my face into my hands, "this is all my fault," I muttered into them. "We have to find her." I said, taking my hand's down so the others could hear me. "Now."_

_"Well, that might be easier said than done-"_

_"They could be hurting her!" I yelled, standing up. "This is all my fault! We've got to find her before-"_

_"Warren," Will said in a calming tone, "we all want to find her. But you have to calm down, panicking won't help her."_

_I sank back onto the bench and covered my face in my hands again. They were right, but I needed to find her. It was painful, not in a metaphorical way, but it physically hurt my insides, my throat. It felt like I was breathing through a straw and my stomach had been knotted up. _

_I took a deep breath and tried to keep my voice level and reasonable as I spoke, " What do we do then?"_

_"Well," Ethan pitched in, " that's the thing. There… isn't much to go on." He trailed off._

_There was a pause as all our minds acted as one to try to think of any way we could find her, anything that would help us find her. _

_"I've got an idea." Clove said nonchalantly, as if one of our friends hadn't been kidnapped. I took my hands down and looked at her, giving her my attention._

_"Yeah?" Ethan said._

_"I have some friends that can help."_

* * *

_In our school, people hung around with each other mainly because they had something in common; common status (hero/sidekick), common hobbies, common likes/dislikes, common enemies. But some social groups were formed on the basis that they shared a common power._

_One of these groups, the Gonzales pack, were mostly all family. They all had tanned, tall, muscular builds, dark hair and dark eyes. The latino crew all shared one thing in common, well two if you count that they were all latino, they were all werewolves._

_The Gonzales pack were rather exclusive - mainly because they didn't speak much English, but they didn't talk to many other people. They were intimidating too, they were always together._

_This is why I was surprised as Clove led us to her 'friends' that were all sitting under a tree eating their lunch. They all stopped talking and watched us as we came._

_"Hello." Clove greeted as we approached them. _

_The largest and most muscular one looked at her but then shifted his eyes to coldly scan each of us behind her. "Clove."_

_ She smiled, turning back to us, "This is Ulysses, the Pack Leader."_

_He nodded his head to us distastefully. "What you come for here to know?" Ulysses asked, heavily accented in Spanish._

_I glanced at the group behind him. There was an obvious couple, judging by how a girl was leaning into another boy with interlaced fingers. Then there were two other girls, one with short, spiky dark hair, the other with long curly black hair that fell gracefully to the ground. Behind them were two other boys who were practically identical with short dark hair and very muscular physiques. They were all glaring at us._

_"We need you to track something for us," Clove explained, "one of our friends is missing."_

_Ulysses raised a tentative brow. "Who?"_

_"Miya Parker." Clove said confidently._

_"Ah. Girl who turns to animals, sí?" Ulysses asked, "Girl who can fight?"_

_"Yes. That's her."_

_"Girl seems capable of looking after herself. No need of our assistance." He deadpanned. _

_"She's not." I said, "She need's our help. She's been taken."_

_"Taken?" The girl who was leaning into her boyfriend repeated from behind Ulysses. _

_Layla nodded, "We think she's been kidnapped."_

_The pack all turned to look at Ulysses, waiting for their leader to make a decision._

_"We see no need for our concern. What do we get from this?" Ulysses asked._

_My throat burnt. I wanted to yell at the self centred prick-_

_Layla put a hand on my shoulder before I could continue with my thoughts. I looked down to her and she subtly shook her head and mouthed the word 'don't'._

_"Nothing." Clove said. "You owe me."_

_Ulysses glanced back to Clove. The pack behind him were looking at their leader with confusion, it didn't look like they knew why they 'owed' something to the flower-child either. His eyes seemed to turn to black pits as they stared at Clove passively. Clove's posture and expression didn't waver as she watched him._

_"Fine." Ulysses finally said, "what is needed from us?"_

* * *

**A/N. I have a question. Do you guys think of Miya's name pronounced as My-ah or Me-ah? Which one do you think suites better? My sister was confused as to how it was pronounced and I realised it could go either way. What did you always think of it as?**

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**Stinker126- ****_Im really sorry it took so long. But I'm really glad you like it! Xxx_**

**LizzyB- ****_Thanks so much! And sorry it took so long :( xxx_**

**Vampireprincessofempire- ****_Ha ha. Let's hope so. And thank you so much for all of your constant reviews. They mean a lot! xxxx_**

**LA Gypsy - _Ha ha! That's good, I kind of made that one as I went along - but I thought it fit quite well. But I also made a plan for those two later... Thank you so much! You made me laugh. And sure, I'll try to think of some. If you've got any ideas for anything funny, I'd be happy to hear them! But I will try to think of some - it's just hard now with the situation they're in. He he. Thanks! xxxxxx_**


	28. Scent

**A/N In this chapter, I tried to limit the gruesome bit so it wasn't so…. well, gruesome. I made it so more gruesome bits are implied behind the scenes, but you don't see much. But I don't know how much gory you guys want so your going to have to let me know. But, if you really dislike it, don't read Bella's POV. It's not very gory, but if you're like that, then, I'm warning you. It's not a native part to the plot I just thought it would make sense if I added it.**

**So, basically, if you don't want to read gore, don't read Bella's POV**

**Enjoy…**

**Wild Ways**

**Scent**

* * *

_Warren POV_

_I stopped myself from moving back and forth. Side to side. Stopped my urge to fidget. To tell them to be quicker. To yell at them. __It wasn't going to get thing's done faster. But I felt like I should be doing something. More than just watching. __Every second I spent doing nothing, is another she could be spending in hell._

_I had to stop myself from thinking what they could be doing to her right now, I had thought so often about it but it had just made me slower. And I had to be quick. For her._

_"Is it something you can do?" Clove asked Ulysses._

_I handed Ulysses Parker's blue sweater she had left at my house the night before she left for Spain the first time. I had had to run to my house and get it before meeting the gang and the Pack back at Will's. Ulysses took it and bought it up to his nose to take an audible sniff, then cocked his head to the side, his nose wrinkling. Without so much as a blink, he passed it to the Latino behind him who also took a large whiff. And, soon, everyone of his pack had had a smell of her jumper. Once it had been handed back to Ulysses, he turned and somehow communicated with the rest of his pack without motion or voice. Then turned back to us, "It's possible. She has a strong scent." _

_"Where did you last see her?" The Latino girl with the long dark hair asked from behind Ulysses. The girl seemed to speak better English than him. Ulysses, who seemed to never move, turned to look at her, "So we can track her from there." She finished. _

_He nodded in agreement and smiled slightly, "Good idea."_

_"The forrest." Magenta said, "Just by the park. That's where any of us last saw her."_

_"What do you want us to do?" I asked, "Can we do anything to help or-"_

_"No." Ulysses cut in waving his hand and shaking his head, "Your scents will only get in the way. It will only take longer."_

_I swallowed, "How long do you think it will take?"_

_The girl with the long dark hair and large dark eyes spoke again. Although there was a definite accent, her voice was strong, confident and clear, "It depends," she said, stepping forward as if she were gliding, "If she is far away, it will obviously take longer."_

_The other girl, with the dark spiky hair and red tips who wore chunky black boots and a leather jacket spoke, "Her ways of transportation matter also," her English was obviously not as good as Ulysses' and the other girl's, "If she go by plane, no chance of tracking. By boat, no chance also."_

_"So, if she didn't go by either of those," the other girl finished, "we are fast runners. We will find her in under two days," my stomach lurched, "But, it's hard to tell since you don't know how far."_

_"So, it could be sooner?" Ethan asked._

_The girl turned towards him, her eyes seemed to go larger and somehow gathered enough light in the dim living room to glimmer and glow against the dark irises. She pushed her silky hair behind her shoulder before answering, "Yes, the closer she is, the faster we will find her." Her voice softened and continued to look at Ethan as she said, "My name is Ria by the way. Short for Ariana." _

_She turned to look at all of us and gestured to the punk spiky haired one, "This is Zoe," then to the couple who were never further than a foot away from each other, "Nicole and Dylan," then she turned to the two, bulky boys who were always at the back and looked exactly the same with bronze skin, short dark hair, large foreheads and strong jaws, "Then there's the twins, Pedro and Bruno." The large twins both raised a tanned hand and gave a short wave with a hint of a synchronised smile. "They don't speak much English."_

_The two boys both looked at each other and said at the same time, "We speak no Americano." Then they both made a deep laugh, and the one on the right, Pedro, spoke, "It's like the song, no?"_

_The gang and the pack laughed at the poor joke._

_"When do you plan on starting?" Clove asked._

_"Now." Ulysses said._

_"Werewolves don't sleep much," Ria explained, "We can call you in the morning and tell you our progress." She turned to Ethan, "What's your number?"_

_Ethan stared at her for a minute then snapped out of some trance and fumbled for a pen and chocolate wrapper from his pocket. Ria moved graciously across the room and took it from his hand once he was done and smiled at him. Ethan looked down at his boots and blushed when their hands touched._

_She stuffed the wrapper into the back pocket of her dark jeans and turned to walk back to Ulysses' side, who was glaring at Ethan. He put a hand on Ria's shoulder, "We'll go now," he said and turned her round and headed toward the door. The rest of the pack followed after them._

_"Good luck!" Layla shouted after them as the door shut._

* * *

_Ria POV_

_The joints in my ankles were burning. The blood running up and through my body felt like it was on fire. And I loved it. _

_There was nothing I loved more than being in my wolf form, the wind running through my fur as I ran with my pack at a supernatural pace._

_Dylan stopped in front of me so I started to slow down. His muzzle was down on the ground and he was sniffing wildly at the uneven tarmac. Dylan had the best sense of smell so he lead the pack at times like this. _

_He turned into his human form, we usually do this to communicate, so I eventually transformed too. On two feet and stationary now, I spun around to look at my surroundings. We were standing on an abandoned lane of uneven tarmac that stretched right to the horizon. Either side of the road was an undisturbed duvet of snow that hid the fields and dying crops underneath. The snow glimmered like dust given off a diamond in the little light given by the sun that was hidden behind the flawless, white clouds._

_The long road had been dotted with salt as an attempt to get rid of the snow, but it just left the snow dotted and not as thick as it was on the field. Other than that, and the fact that it was a road, there was no sign that anyone had ever been there, just a large mass of white. I felt as if I were intruding in on a black and white photo._

_I shivered. It looked pretty cold. I couldn't feel it though. Werewolves have unnaturally high body temperatures. I wanted to feel the cold though. It made me feel even more different than I was to the rest of the world. It looked fun to be able to have snowball fights without the snow melting once it was in your hand. I knew it was fun because I could do it once. Before I Turned. Before I became a werewolf. _

_I was the second to Turn in the Pack, after Nicole__. She Turned a few months before I did. My Turning was a week after my eleventh __birthday. I remember waking up with a fever, my skin feeling like it was burning and my head swam enough to blur my vision. It got worse and my temperature rose each day. Eventually, my insides had felt as if they were ripping apart. I remember screaming, screaming a lot. My Turn was unusual though, it was only a week long. Most of the Pack's had spread out of a period of around a month._

_I was bought back got the present when I heard Dylan's voice, "I think we should call the orange kid now. We've gotten quite far." He said in spanish._

_I nodded and grabbed my phone and the chocolate wrapper Ethan had given me, dialling it carefully into my phone. It was hard to do things precisely after being in a wolf form for a while. Phone numbers were particularly hard. But I got it first time._

_"Do you want to do it?" I asked, holding out the phone._

_He shook his head, "I don't know the English for some of it." I nodded before pressing the green button and holding it to my ear. "Besides, I've got a feeling you want to call him more than any of us do." He nudged to Bruno who chuckled. I ignored them as the phone rang in my ear._

_"Hello?" A tired voice from the other end of the line asked._

_I laughed, "Hi Ethan, It's Ria."_

_"Oh." He said, his voice lighting up, "Hi. Hows it going?"_

_I smiled, "Good. We've got some information for you."_

_"Cool. I'll put you on loudspeaker, I'm with everyone." He said before the line ruffled and he called, "Your aloud."_

_"Okay. In the woods you say was the last time you last saw her," I started, "we found a strong scent of chemicals, and then a syringe cap."_

_"Do you know what kind?" A female voice came._

_"No. But it smelt strong and it blocked most of the other smells there. But she was definitely there. We could smell the path she took to get there."_

_"Anything else?" Another voice asked._

_"Yeah. There were bootprints. Large ones." The other end of the line was silent, so I carried on, "We've been tracking her scent and we are currently… somewhere in Utah."_

_"Utah!" Someone exclaimed._

_"You weren't kidding when you said you were fast." Ethan enthused._

_Flattered, I smiled and laughed. "Anyway, we were wondering, how long did you say she has been gone for?"_

_"A day and a bit." A male voice came through._

_I repeated it to Ulysses then said, "We should be close then." I was about to hang up when I remembered something, "Oh. And she wasn't alone. Well, obviously there were the people with the bootprints. But the person who walked with her into the woods-"_

_"Bella?"_

_"Yeah. She's with her too."_

* * *

_Warren POV_

_I got off the bus and walked to the main building of Sky High. I felt like I was betraying her by going to school. And now that I knew the letter was definitely not real because they had traced her to Utah, I was feeling even worse about it. And nervous. And worried. __But, I couldn't do anything about it right now, so I have been told._

_"Warren!" I heard a familiar voice call out. I ignored it and pushed my way through the current of students with a larger force and speed. "Warren." It called again until a bright figure caught up to me and nudged me with his elbow, "Hey Warren." He panted, "I was calling you."_

_"Ur. Zach. I don't really want to talk to anyone right -"_

_"You know, I was thinking." He cut in._

_"Really?" I rolled my eyes._

_"Yeah, well, actually I was just watching Iron Man, and that got me thinking. But, have you ever tried flying?" He asked._

_I frowned, "What?"_

_"Flying." He repeated, "You know, like, in the sky." I just stared at him until he continued, "You know, 'cos your a pyrokinetic and the heat would-"_

_"That's not actually a bad idea." I muttered under my breath._

_"Yeah. It would be so cool." He enthused. "Then we could have two flyers in our group."_

_"I have Skills Development today." I stated._

_"Yeah, try it then." He smiled, "I gotta go, dude. Good luck though, man." He said before scampering off._

* * *

_Bella POV._

_I couldn't bare it anymore. I had to go see. _

_The screams had become a constant music in the air of the rickety warehouse. I couldn't just sit here, no matter how scared I was of my farther._

_I got up of my bed and pulled the door open. There were several of guards in the single corridor, unsurprisingly, but - fortunately - they weren't for me. So I walked right past them without any of them batting an eyelid._

_I didn't know my way, but I didn't need to. The louder the screams were, the closer I was getting._

_I pushed my way through different corridors, slowly quickening my pace until I broke into a run, sprinting down the labyrinth of corridors I wasn't meant to be in. I rounded a corner and stopped when I saw the door. The temperature was even colder than it had been in my room and it sounded eerily quiet without the echo of my footsteps ricocheting off the walls. The only sound was the sound of my own heart beat thumping wildly - whether it was from the run or my nerves, I didn't know - and my ragged breathing. Until the scream came again. I walked cautiously up to the door and turned the handle. The door swung open._

_I only got a glimpse before my Dad saw me, shouted at me and got a guard to pick me up and take me out. But what I saw shocked me to the core. _

_The back of what looked like a dentist chair was facing me. Under it, wet and dry blood swam in a crimson mud on the floor. The hair that was dangling off the chair looked wet and sticky. I couldn't see the actual face or body - nor did I want to - but I saw the handcuffs that held her to the chair. _

_I let out a scream in terror before the man's body blocked my view and I was being hauled onto his shoulder. I kicked and thrashed around but the man was strong and had a firm grip._

_"Bella?" I heard a hoarse voice say._

_Another man went up to her and cracked her across the face. I thrashed wildly and yelled nothing coherent at the top of my lungs. The man drew back and punched her stomach. I heard her groan and saw the top of her head move as she flinched._

_That was the last I saw of her before I was carried out of the room._

_I gave up once we had gone down a few corridors and flopped lazily in my captors arms._

_"Don't let this one back here." He grunted to another guard, "boss' orders."_

_The guard nodded and I was dropped onto the ground. The man walked back where we had come from and the new guard helped me get up before holding my arm as he escorted me back into the cell that was my room._

* * *

_Will POV._

_Warren burst into my living room wearing the closest thing to a smile I had seen him wear since we found out Miya had gone missing._

_"Zach, you were right." He said before looking around and seeing that the Pack were in the living room also. His face darkened again, "What's happened?"_

_I decided to let him enjoy whatever was making him happy and bought it back up, "What was Zach right about?"_

_He looked back at me and shrugged before turning back to the Pack and repeating, "What happened? Did you find her?"_

_"Wait," Zach said, "So you can fly?" He said with a grin._

_Magenta and Layla's jaws flung open, along with my own, "What! Since when?" Layla gasped._

_Warren sighed exasperatedly, "If I get really hot all over, I can fly." He said, obviously less concerned about it than other things. But it was the best news any of us had heard all week._

_"That's wicked, man!" Zach enthused._

_"Wow!" Magenta gasped, "Tha's so cool."_

_"I can't very well, though." Warren added, "I'm bad at it. Now, can you please tell me what's going on?"_

_The hole gang turned to the Pack, since none of us had heard either, we had been waiting for Warren._

_"Well," Ulysses started, "We found where scent stops."_

_Warren's face lit up, "You found her?" He asked._

_"We were lead to a warehouse, borderline Utah." Ria summarised._

_"But we could not see girl. Girl is inside." Ulysses added._

_"And, we not go in because many camera's," Nicole said, "We go outside and smell. No risk of going on camera."_

_"She's saying that we went in a circle around the warehouse, outside of the camera's view, and she is definitely there. We couldn't pick her scent up anywhere other than her entrance." Ria picked up, Nicole nodded at her for helping her explain._

_Warren shrugged on his jacket, "Let's go then." He said, before heading towards the door. Only to be stopped by Bruno who put a hand on his shoulder._

_"Stupid. Not go yet, Ur…." He said then looked up in thought, searching for the English._

_"Yeah, Warren." Magenta said, "We can't just waltz in there, get her, and leave." She said, "We don't know anything about it other than it has camera's outside it, which doesn't give a good first impression."_

_"Mag is right, Warren." I agreed, "We're going to need more information than that before we can go in, and more manpower."_

_Warren clenched his jaw and turned around to face us again. He visibly tried to soften his voice as he said, "What do you suggest we do then?'_

_I was about to say that I didn't know when Clove spoke up, "I think," She said, "I can help with that."_

* * *

**A/N Poor Miya :( **

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**LA Gypsy - ****_Ha ha! I'm so happy you like my ideas! Me too, I hate owing favours! Specially when it's my sisters and money. Urgh, that one always comes back to bite you. And yes, it is pretty embarrassing (what Clove has on Ulysses). I actually made it embarrassing after your comment, I wouldn't have thought of it otherwise so thank you. And thank you so much! Im so happy you like it so much! xxx_**

**Molly Grace 16 - ****_Ah. Thank you so much for pointing that put, I wouldn't have realised otherwise! Ha ha. Thanks! xx_**

**Vamipireprincessofempire - ****_Yeah, I thought of it as me-ah too. Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing! xxx_**

**Guest- ****_Aww! That is the sweetest comment I have had. Thank you so much. That makes me feel so good to know that at least one person thinks of it so positively! Thank you for making my day! Xxx_**

**Guest -****_ Yeah, that's what I thought too. I just wondered if I was wrong or what everyone else thought suited her better. But thanks for clarifying! xxx_**

**Ella-Verayne- ****_Did you? Do you think Me-ah suites her better, or My-ah? I think it's meant to be pronounced as Me-ah but I'm just intrigued to find out which one people like better. I don't know why. But thanks for letting me know! xx_**


	29. Alexandra

**A/N. Hey, I actually wrote this a while ago but I was scared you guys would think it was terrible and changed it a lot. But then I got rid of the changes because I had different doubts on them too. So let me no now what you think.**

**Enjoy!...**

**Wild Ways**

**Alexandra**

* * *

Miya POV

I gasped for air as the ice water smacked me, waking me from my much-wanted sleep for the fith time. Not sleep - unconsciousness.

The water ran through my hair and down my body, doing a little to numb the pain that ran under my skin like poison. But little was more than nothing.

My shivering was slighter than it had been the last time I was conscious - which must have only been a minute ago, they didn't allow any more than that - I guess I just didn't have the energy to do it anymore.

On top of my weak, broken form, my hunger stabbed me like a million daggers lining the inside of my stomach. My throat felt heavy and tight and my organs felt as if they were going to spill out of my body.

I leaned forward involuntarily and heaved. But nothing came up. No food anyway, only a bit of blood.

I leaned back and my eyelids felt heavy, too heavy to keep open. I shut them. But I couldn't. I had to keep them open, otherwise they would dsoothe thing to keep them open for me.

"I told you." Came a calm voice. Annoyingly calm. "We will feed you, let you sleep. Give you a jumper."

I swayed my head side to side, trying hard to ignore what he was saying, knowing thinking about what he was saying would be torture in itself. But I slipped, I thought of a warm soup running down my tight throat, soothing it. Warming my body up. I tried to push the thought away. Tried to bring up another one.

"No." I said. It came out as a croaky whisper, "You'll kill me." I said as my jaw chattered, "And. And…" I tried hard to remember why I was here, why I was going through all of this, "And supers… lots of people with super powers..." Super powers? That was crazy. It made me want to laugh. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"But wouldn't it be nice?" The voice came again. I focused on the man standing there, eating a chicken drumstick nonchalantly. I whimpered as my mouth watered and my stomach burnt, yearning for food. "To have a big plate of steaming pasta? A mug of hot chocolate?"

I let out an involuntary noise and began to shake hard again. Tears started to roll down my cold face. I knew I had to keep going. But I kept forgetting why. I shook my head, reminding myself I couldn't. Ever.

"What time is it?" I asked. It was the only coherent question I had been able to think of since I first came, how long ago? Two weeks? It was hard to tell since I didn't know the time. But each time, they ignored me.

"You know, Alexandra." The voice came again, it was distant now. Exhaustion was drowning me, blurring his voice.

Then more water.

My eyes opened again, responding to the cold. Funny - I hadn't even realised they had shut.

"It's just a bunch of names. A list of names of people with powers."The voice reminded me, "Powers. It's silly isn't it." It was silly. People with powers. It was absurd. It was funny. I laughed. It hurt my stomach, which made me laugh harder, louder.

"We don't want to hurt you Alexandra. Your a sweet girl." The voice vibrated in my ears, "We want to be nice to you. Feed you, warm you up. Because you're cold, aren't you. Hungry. Tired. You're hurting."

I whimpered again and let out a low howl as I was reminded of my pain.

"You're doing this for a list of names you know."

Names? That made me angry. Names didn't deserve this. They were words. And I was a person.

I swayed my head. "I don't want any names." I chattered.

"I know you don't. But we do, you would be helping us very much by helping us find them."

It seemed silly. I didn't want some names, and they did. It was a misunderstanding. "I'll help you. And you help me?"

The voice laughed sweetly, like a farther would. "That's what I've been saying."

Why hadn't I done this before? I couldn't remember.

I blinked hard to try and keep my eyes open and look at the man. My focus swam but I could see his figure. "Well this is just silly."

"Very silly." The voice agreed.

I nodded, "Okay, I'll tell you then."

* * *

Will POV

"How do you think you could help?" I asked.

"Well," Clove said, "I know little green, invisible, mythical men don't come into use very often. But, spying is one of the few thing's they are useful for."

"So, you send little, green," Ulysses seemed to shudder as he said the words, "men into warehouse?"

Clove nodded.

"That's not actually a bad idea." Mag nodded her approval.

"How do we know what they're seeing though?" Ethan asked. "I don't think the elves are going to be able to explain what directions to take inside the warehouse very well."

"That's a good point." Ria said approvingly, stepping closer to Ethan.

"They could bring a camera?" I suggested.

Clove shook her head, "Too heavy. There would have to be more than one of them carrying it."

Ethan's face lit up, "What about the watches trained super heroes get? The one's with the camera's in them so they can contact their sidekick or colleague?" He turned to me, "Your parents must have a pair, right?" I nodded and turned to the chest of draws behind me, pulling out a draw and revealing two watches. "So we can give the elves one and keep one for ourselves, to see what they're doing."

Clove nodded, "That could work, I'll ask them."

She turned around and crouched down to the coffee table that had nothing on it, then whispered to it.

"Ur… What is she doing?" Ria asked beside Ethan, towering over him with her black-boot stilettos.

"She's talking to her elves'" Ethan explained.

"I don't see anything." She said.

"That's because Clove doesn't want us to see them." He said, looking back to Clove who was in a deep conversation with what looked like mid-air.

"Oh." Ria said, "You're so smart, Ethan." She enthused, pushing her hair back.

Ethan blushed and turned around before she could she his red face.

"Okay." Clove said, standing back up and rejoining the group. "They know what they're meant to be doing."

* * *

We all were gathered around the computer screen a few hours later. Ethan had linked the feed up to the computer and we were watching what was coming from the watch the elf, Phil, was carrying. It was a jerky picture as the small green man hurried across the ground to the warehouse. Clove hadn't want anyone to see them so, the only thing the camera's would pick up is a moving watch. And maybe not even that because it was night now.

"Why is she even there?" Ria asked.

"Because she was kidnapped!" Warren snapped, then continued to watch the screen intently.

"Well, clearly. I mean, why was she kidnapped? And why won't you tell anybody about it? Like, the police or something?"

"Because, if word got around, it won't only be these guys that want her." Zach said to Ria as if she were dumb.

"Can't you tell us, though. It's kind of annoying not knowi-"

"Shut up, Ria!" Zoe said impatiently, then continued to watch the screen.

Ria puffed out her cheeks, "I'm going to the bathroom," She announced before storming off.

The elves were at the edge of the warehouse. Clove allowed us to see and hear them, but they were invisible to the guards.

"Okay. We'll go under the door." The main elf, Phil, commanded in his squeaky voice. "Go, go, go!" He yelled.

One by one, the thirty or so elves ran up to the door and rolled under, through the gap. The camera jerked as Phil ran after them and rolled under the door gap, pulling the watch behind him.

Inside, the camera revealed a long corridor. The elves were all looking around in wonder. They were wearing a vibrant green camo outfit, and wore mud on their faces.

Mag grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and drew the corridor on it to eventually make a map.

"Hmm…" The high-pitched voice of another elf came in, "Where to go now?"

"We can't exactly go round with a watch. They are bound to think something is up with a floating watch." Another one agreed, nodding his head vigorously.

We couldn't say anything to them now they were inside. Although the guards couldn't hear the elves, they could hear us through the watch. None of us moved.

Well, none of us around the computer screen moved, but I saw something in the corner of my eye. Ria, coming back from the toilet.

I turned my head around to her, just in time to see her hand brush over a mug. She gasped and tried to catch it with her other hand. But it slipped. And fell. And made a piercing noise in the silence.

Everyone's head's spun with wide eye's as one to see what had made the noise. Then snapped back to the screen in horror.

The smash from the watch echoed in the hallway.

"Oops." Ria said. I turned to her and vigorously put a finger to my lips.

"Whose there?" A deep voice called.

The elves on the screen all shared terrified looks with each other.

"No one's meant to be back there." The voice called again, followed by the echo of heavy footsteps.

The footsteps got quicker until the man was evidently running.

"Quick!" An elf shouted.

The camera spun as Phil faced an elf holding a vent open. "Everyone!" Phil shouted in his squeaky voice, "In the vent! Now!"

The elves all ran as a fluid into the vent, their rucksacks bobbing up and down on their backs as they went. What was in the rucksacks, I had no idea.

Phil was the last one to get in before the vent slammed shut.

The all stood there, panting as the footsteps came up to the vent and the man crouched down.

The elves held there breaths as a large eye peeked through the vent grating.

Everyone in the living room were holding their breath too. The blue eye filled up the screen as it looked right at the elves.

The eye rolled and vanished, followed by the retreating of footsteps.

The elves - and us in the living room - all took in a relieved breath as one.

"Phew." An elf sighed, wiping off a bit off sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Let's go this way." Phil said, turning around.

It was obviously a dark vent but we couldn't see anything.

The only thing we heard for a while was the light footsteps of the elves in the vent and Phil whispering what direction they were going so Mag could still map it out - that and the hushed giggling coming from an annoying pair at the back.

Every now and then, there would be an opening, the elves would stop and show us what was out there.

Mag would write it down what was there.

Ethan was also writing things down, estimating how many guards and camera's there were in the building.

The next opening revealed a kitchen with some bulky guards sitting down and smoking. Their laughs echoed through the vents.

I shuddered, every guard we had seen so far had all been tall and strong. Miya must be worth a lot, considering how much of a trouble it must've been to make sure she stayed in, and no one got in.

"We're climbing upwards." Phil announced. "It's getting pretty steep."

They must be going into the ceiling vent.

I held my breath when a laugh rattled through the vent, the watch, and out of the laptop speakers. It was a wild laugh, one you might find if you went to a mental asylum. It got louder and more hysterical. It was more of a cackle.

Then, "We don't want to hurt you Alexandra." A calming, masculine voice came. Sinisterly calming. Everyone shared puzzled looks with each other. Who was Alexandra? "We want to be nice to you. Feed you, warm you up. Because you're cold, aren't you? Hungry. Tired. You're hurting."

The next noise that came was painful to hear. A low howl was made. The howl of someone in pain. Warren drew a sharp breath in.

"That's her." He whispered disbelievingly.

"Phil," Clove whispered, "follow the voice. Find that girl."

Phil turned around and did as told, his troops running behind him.

"You're dong this for a list you know." The voice came in again, this time louder.

Phil ran faster, toward the light spilling into the vent through a grating. The grating leading to the room Miya was in.

When the got there, you couldn't see anything with the shutters in the way, just the light that spilled from the room and into the dark vent.

"I've got an idea." Said a different elf.

He shrugged off his rucksack and pulled it open, taking out a thread - the kind of thread you would make a friendship bracelet with. He ran over to Phil with the green thread and wrapped it twice around his waist.

The vent was soon opened and the elves all held onto the thread as Phil, and the watch, were lowered.

As Phil descended, the camera was facing upwards, toward the ceiling. But Phil rolled over and pointed it to the ground

Everyone drew in a shocked breath as we analysed the scene.

Miya was lying down in a dentist chair, which was covered in dry blood. Her hair was matted with with red crusts, probably from the gash on her forehead. Her face was covered with bruises. I imagined her body would be too under her top. Her arms were handcuffed to the chair and had gashes running up and down them. Her clothes were covered in dried puke and blood and were completely soaked.

It made me cold to look at her. Her body was shaking convulsively and was drenched in water. She only wore a tank top and shorts. Next to her stood a man with a bucket at his feet, it was being filled with hose water. And in front of her was another man. A man I recognised. Eric Gray.

Her head shook from side to side and her blue lips moved as she spoke, "I don't want any names." She said, her head still shaking exaggeratedly.

"I know you don't. But we do, you would be helping us very much by helping us find them." Eric said in his chair, slowly nibbling on a chicken leg.

"I'll help you if you help me?" Miya asked, her voice cracked. She tried to curl in on herself but the handcuffs wouldn't let her.

A wicked grin formed on Eric's face. Miya couldn't see it, her eyes were shut. Then he laughed. "That's what I've been saying."

Miya obviously tried to keep up with him as she tried to keep her eyes on him, but they kept closing or zooming out of focus. "Well this is just silly."

Eric nodded his agreement, "Very silly."

Miya nodded madly, as the trying to remind herself she was agreeing to something, "Okay. I'll tell you then." Eric leaned forward in his chair, his face passive.

Miya seemed to be thinking hard as shut squeezed her eyes shut. Then suddenly blurted, "Spain." She gasped, "Still in Spain."

Eric leaned back,"We know you have taken it out. You hid it somewhere else." He sighed, as if he had lost a few hours work to a pointless outcome. "You know, wouldn't lie to me. Are you sure you want to see what happens to people who-"

"No! No." Miya shook, her chattering getting worse, "No. It's still there. It's in Spain." She said trying to compose herself, "I hid it in Spain."

* * *

**A/N. In Spain? And what is this whole Alexandra business?**

**Speaking of different countries, anyone going anywhere nice for summer hols? I've just spent the whole week surfing, that may be a reason why I'm late on the update... Sorry. **

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**~Reaview reply~**

**stinker126- I know, its quite annoying they haven't done anything yet.** **thanks for reviewing! Xxxx**

**Vampireprincessofempire- Ha ha. Thats good to know. And yeah, they are pretty lazy aren't they... Xxxx**

**Sarafinja- thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy it! He he, thanks. It took a while to make all the pieces to the puzzle (but some of them just fit as I go along). Xxxx**


	30. Flying and Falling

**A/N. Hiya. I'm not sure how comprehensible this one is, just tell me if you don't understand a word and I'll... de - uncomprehense it... That's utter jibberish too. I think I need to go to sleep. Or have a coffee or something.**

**Anyway, Enjoy...**

**Wild Ways**

**Flying and Falling**

* * *

_Warren POV_

_My throat balled up to the point it was too painful to understand anything that was said after the computer screen went black. I vaguely heard Will announce that the watch's were out of battery. And then there was a rapid conversation over the scene we had witnessed._

_Seeing her like that felt as bad as if it were me they had held captive, not her. Worse even. I felt like I would do anything to swap places with her. I would do anything to get her out of there. I wanted to be with her, warm her up. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and not let go until his blew over._

_"We know its not in Spain, though." I heard Will say through my redundant thoughts, "She made it clear that she had definitely hidden it on this continent."_

_"What did she hide?" Ria asked impatiently, but was ignored. Everyone had too much on their minds to explain details. Nor did they want to._

_"Then why did she say it was in Spain then?" Mag asked impatiently._

_"She must be lying." Will insisted, "She must be trying to trick them."_

_Mag looked at him, "It didn't exactly look like she was in the kind of state to think of a lie. Or want to lie."_

_"This is Miya," Will pointed, "we don't know what she's capable of."_

_I zoned out again._

_I needed to help her._

_I stood up and grabbed my jacket wordlessly. The room went quiet as I walked out the living room door. I heard Will stand up and follow behind me. He didn't put a hand on my shoulder, or say anything to stop me. There was no point, and he knew it._

* * *

_We only got a few steps out of the front door when it opened again. I turned and saw Clove come out. She was dressed in a long, blue skirt that floated behind her as she walked. Her hair was in plaits, the ends pinned to her head, creating a halo of bleach-blonde hair circle around her head. Her shirt hugged her waist but was baggy and loose at the top and bottom. Brightly coloured bangles covered her arm from her elbow to her wrist, her fingers layered with multiple rings._

_"Warren, Will," she called. Will spun around to look at her. She looked out of place on the snowy porch. My guess would be that anyone wearing what she was right then without a jacket would be freezing, but she didn't even seem to acknowledge it was cold outside,"Phil told me she's leaving."_

_Will looked puzzled, "How did he get back so quickly?"_

_Clove cocked her head to one side, "Seeing as they aren't officially real, they can turn up anywhere I want them to."_

_"What do you mean leaving?" I asked, discarding the debate on methods of elf travel._

_She turned to look at me. Her eyes were a pure green and shone optimistically in the moon light, "Phil said they're going to Moratalla."_

_"Moratalla?" Will asked._

_Clove nodded, "The town in Spain."_

_"She's going with them?" I asked. She nodded. "How?"_

_"They have a plane." She manoeuvred down a step, her skirt following loyally behind her, trailing in the snow but never seeming to get wet. "They were getting ready to leave about ten minutes ago."_

_I turned to Will who was looking at me expectantly and then shrugged. "I guess we'll have to hurry."_

_He nodded his agreement then turned to thank Clove._

_"How do you plan on getting there?" Clove asked curiously._

_"The same way she is." Will said._

_Clove's dark eyebrows knitted together, "You don't have a plane."_

_Will and I shared a look, "We're going to fly." He said._

_Clove looked at us both, her gaze lingering on me, then shrugged and walked back up the step and onto the porch. "Good luck." She smiled and turned to Will's front door._

_As the door shut, I looked at Will and bent my knees. Ready to fly._

* * *

Miya POV

The air in the cargo plane was dense and musky and carried the smell of a rotting basement. It was colder in the plane then it was in the warehouse.

The floor vibrated beneath me as I lay on it in the corner of the plane. I was curled in a ball, rubbing my arms to try to keep the warmth in them. The guard's were dotted around the room and all wore thick, heavy coats. Some sat on crates motionlessly, while some sat with others, smoking and shouting over the roar of the wind and engine.

The engine had become a song in my head as usual and welcome as the sound of my heartbeat. That's why I was surprised to hear a sudden change in the rhythm. The engine was slowing. We were landing.

I shuffled around on the floor, trying to get a better view of what was happening. A pin seemed to prick my chest as I moved. Compared to all the other pain I was feeling over my body, it was nothing. But I still felt it. And it dug deeper the more I moved.

Annoyed and bored, I rolled over and searched for the source of the prick. But it wasn't on my shirt. It was in my shirt? I looked down and noticed a bit of metal had ripped through the material of my bra. I thought it was just the wire at first, but as I looked longer, I noticed it was bent and crooked.

The lock pick.

I couldn't help smiling. Remembering the lock pick had been the best news I had had since I was at Ethan's house last. That seemed so long ago.

I lifted my cuffed hands to pull it out and fumbled with it, trying to jam it into the keyhole of the cuffs.

But, before I could even get it in, the engine stopped dead and two burly guards swaggered over to me while a door in the floor opened. They grabbed my arms and dragged me harshly to my feet. I grunted at the movement my body didn't agree with but made my hand into a fist, holding onto the pick with my life.

"W-what are w-we d-doing?" I chattered as I was marched down the flap and into the cold night air. And I guessed, onto Spanish soil.

The men looked down at me in surprise, as if they didn't know I could talk, as if they hadn't realised I was human at all.

"Swapping for a helicopter," One of them said, "They're easier to land without an airport," He explained.

The wind slapped me as I was half carried, half dragged, across the tarmac of the runway. It was dark but the moonlight was enough to make out the silhouette of a large, army helicopter we were walking towards.

The helicopter was slit into two compartments, one was large that all the guards were sat in. I was bought in and about to be dumped into that compartment when a voice called to the guards that were holding me.

"Boy's," The voice shouted, "bring her in here. I'd like a word."

The guards nodded and bought me into the other compartment. This one was smaller than the fist one. It had a large parachutist door at one side.. Then had two benches opposite each other, one of which sat a man. The man who through water at my face back at the warehouse.

As I sat down and the guards who bought me in went back under the archway into their comartment, the engine and the blades above us started, signifying it was getting ready to fly. I tried to curl into a ball again. The noise was greater in the helicopter than it had been on the plane. It was loud enough to hurt.

Water man bent down and came up with a pair of headphones, handing one to me. They both had microphones attached to them so we could hear each other over the noise of the helicopter. I took it and put it on my head.

"Where are w-we?" I asked into the microphone.

Water man scrunched up his face in disapproval. He didn't like me talking. But I had to know where we were because I was the one who knew where the memory stick was. "We're nearly at the town. Moratalla." He snarled, looking down at me with repulsion.

I shivered. I wanted to cry.

When they found out it wasn't there, I don't think I could bear any of this for any longer. I don't know why I said it. I knew I couldn't say where it really was in that second.

But I couldn't go back with them. Not after having lied to them. Thinking of more than another night with them terrified me..

"You know, if your wrong about this," Water man said. I turned to him. "I'm not nearly as nice as Gray." He snarled.

I looked away from him as I tried to find the keyhole of my handcuffs.

"And I don't believe your right." He growled, "All you Wild's are the same. Useless. Subversive. Eric thought maybe you would be different. But I know your just like your parents."

I took a shaky breath in. "My p-parents were k-killed by -" The end of the sentence burnt my throat, so I changed it, "by your k-kind. And you call them subvers-sive."

Water man looked at me with evil eyes and keeled over with wicked laughter. "You can't even say it. Who really killed your parents." He howled as the helicopter leaned right. I looked out the window as I fiddled with the lock. It was dark but the moon cast a blue light on the forrest below.

"You can't admit to yourself what actually happened that night." He laughed. My anger grew and boiled inside me. I looked back out the window. Then back around the room, making sure for no guards. "You won't admit to yourself that the people you trust most might be worse than us," he cackled. I looked at the door, the bolt. My handcuffs rattled.

"You don't-"

Pop.

As he leaned forward to say the words, my cuffs sprung open and I leaned forward with the little courage my anger came with and swung my head as hard as I could into his nose. I leaped up and spun round behind him, putting my cuffs around his neck and pulled on them as hard as I could.

The sound of his gurgles was drowned out by the roar of the spinning blades of the helicopter. I was sure the guards couldn't hear a thing. But I could hear them, through my headphones.

He bought up both hands instinctively, one trying to pull the chain of the handcuffs away from his neck and the other... clicking? He was snapping his fingers repeatedly into the microphone. It was replayed loudly in my ears. Why would you be clicking if you knew I was the only one who would hear it? Unless... I wasn't the only person with the headphones on.

My head spun toward the archway leading toward the compartment all the guards were in . I quickly released water man, leaving him spluttering on the floor, and stumbled clumsily to the parachutist door. I couldn't find it very easily, my vision was blurry and my balance even worse. But I found the lever. I found the bolt.

Guards came spilling out of the archway, instantly seeing their squirming colleague on the floor.

I pulled the bolt across and fumbled to find the handle.

A few of the guards leaped to help their boss. But others, the smart ones, looked around further until they spotted me.

I pushed open the door, holding onto the bar as the wind tore at me, trying to snatch me. I peered over the edge.

The guards ran toward me.

But they were too late.

I wouldn't go back with them. Even if it meant jumping out a helicopter.

* * *

_Warren POV_

_"Moratalla." Will announced._

_We were on a cobbled path leading to a brightly lit town to see if we were in the right place. And the sign post confirmed it._

_I nodded, trying to catch my breath, "Okay. Let's go."_

_Will looked at me uncertainly, "Are you sure you don't want to take a break?"_

_I hadn't eaten anything in a while. And burning up used a lot of energy. If I burned up enough to have to fly, a lot more energy had to be used. And Will new this._

_"No. Let's go."_

_Will looked at me more stubbornly, "Come on. You look like you're about to faint."_

_I reached round and grabbed a granola bar that was in the pocket of my rucksack. We had gone to my house before we went after Parker to grab a few essentials. I waved the granola bar in front of Will so he knew I was eating something. He nodded his acknowledgment before I started to eat._

_I was halfway through it when I noticed Will staring off into the distance curiously. I spun around and followed the direction of his gaze._

_There was a small red, blinking light in the sky. It was distant but shone clearly in the night sky._

_"That's too low to be a plane." He said._

_I pocketed the granola bar. Will shot up into the air wordlessly, leaving a gust of cold wind in his wake. I got up off of the stone wall I was sitting on and flung my arms to the side. They ignited them with golden flames that licked up my arms. I willed the fire to grow hotter and spread until my shoulders and legs were drenched in angry flames. It travelled quickly to my torso and, lastly, my face._

_I breathed out deeply as I got hotter and the flames grew, getting hungrier. It tingled on my skin as it got as hot as I would need. Then I forced all the heat and energy into the palms of my hands, sending me flying up._

_Will had said it was better to put it into the palms of my hands because it made me look like more of an airplane for anyone who happened to be looking up._

_The large isolated town of Moratalla twinkled below me. The forrest surrounding the town and layering over the mountains were outlined by the moonlight. We flew low over the trees and over a layer of mountains that hid the town from the rest of the world. The town was at the bottom of a geographical bowl, the mountains acting as a circular wall around it._

_Over the mountains, out of sight of Moratalla, there were hundreds of fields, all shining in different colours under the moonlight. But gradually, the stretch of fields ended with another large forrest._

_The blinking red light was hovering over the forrest. As Will and I powered over the fields and toward the light, I could just about make out a silhouette of a helicopter._

_Below, the terrain was rocky and rose unevenly with large, red cliffs and banks. I flew high over them in fear the trees would catch fire while Will flew lower._

_I would occasionally have to fly higher to rise over a large cliff, but there was one much larger than the others. I had to fly upward to avoid it. The top of the cliff was a large stretch of flat, red, rock that went on a mile with no tree's_

_I looked back just in tim to see Will rise over the edge of the Cliff. But he was too low._

_His shoulder caught on a large boulder and he stumbled, hitting his back onto the ground at super speed. He tumbled over himself continuously, rousing up a dust cloud, until he lost momentum and stopped in a sitting position._

_I lowered my heat until I was stood on the ground. I ran over to him, stumbling over the little bits of rock I couldn't see._

_He was clutching his shoulder with one hand and his shirt was torn on the back._

_"I'm fine." He insisted as I approached him, "just a few cut's."_

_I came and kneeled down next to him, trying to make my own assessment of his injuries._

_He turned to look up at me, "Go find her, she-" he paused as his gaze moved past my shoulder and behind me, "Warren!"_

_I spun around sharply. The helicopter was flying above the end of the stretch of flat land, about two miles away. It's door was wide open, and standing in it, there was a silhouette of a girl, glowing in the moonlight. She looked like a ghost as her died-blonde hair whipped vigorously around her face. Her hands were gripping tightly to the sides._

_She quickly turned around to look behind her before looking back down at the ground._

_I couldn't breath as she took her hands off the edge of the door. She stepped forwards, closer to the edge._

_I sprung up from my crouch, my eyes wide in terror._

_"Parker!" I yelled._

_My voice was swallowed by the noise the spinning blades of the helicopter made. But she looked up anyway. I couldn't see her face but I was sure she saw me._

_ Just as she stepped from the ledge._

_Just as she plummeted to the ground like a stone._

* * *

**A/N. Dun Dun Dunn. **

**Sorry this was a bit of an ill structured chapter. I wrote this while driving back from holiday (7 hours in the car...) on my mum's IPad.**

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**~Review Reply~**

**Vampireprincessofempire- You guessed right my friend... again. Ha ha! Xxx**

**Sarafinja- No. And sorry, they were too late, any guesses on what's going to ****happen? It was so annoying, my sister guessed it third try. Xxx**

**Peachykeen234- Ha ha, ikr. I'm not doing this very well. But, basically, Miya found a memory stick from Spain using clues her parents gave her. On the memory stick, there's a list of the secret identities of all the super heroes (this sounds ****really stupid now I'm writing it down like this.). Then she hid it - it's whereabouts is unknown now - only she knows. But this villain organisation want her for it - ASHA (or Ash). Because they want to get rid of super heroes, knowing all of their secret identities would be a large help. So, now they've kidnapped her. And she gave in and 'told them' she hid it in Spain, when actually, she lied. It's still in America. And now, to get away from them, she jumped out of a helicopter with Warren and Will both watching.**

** Gosh. It is confusing. How do you guys keep up with all this?**

**Thanks telling me Peachykeen234 xxx**

**CatofFire- He he. Thank you so much! I like your pen name btw. Xxxx**


	31. Mourning

**A/N Sorry to leave you on such a cliff. Ha ha - get it. Oh... I'm so punny.**

**Enjoy... xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Mourning**

* * *

_Warren POV_

_I ran._

_I sprinted across the stretch of red rock, forgetting about Will. Everything disappeared around me as I watched the flailing figure. Everything around me was forgotten, I couldn't hear anything, feel anything. I wasn't thinking of anything other than getting to her. She seemed to fall in slow motion._

_But not slow enough._

_I couldn't catch up. I was too far. Much too far. Even flying wouldn't get me close enough. But I had to try._

_I flung my arms to the side while running, igniting them with flames. I pushed down the heat to the palms of my hands and jumped._

_The heat from my hands propelled me into the sky and levitated me a few feet off the floor. I turned the heat up. She was falling too fast. Too fast to save her._

_She fell past the edge of the cliff, I couldn't see her anymore. She would hit the ground before I got there._

_I was nearing the end of the cliff when a large mass hit me from no where. It hit me with such force I was blown backwards. Startled and winded, the heat from my hands vanished and I crashed to the floor, rolling on my back just like Will had done not a minute before._

_Before I could even sit up, something pushed me back down. I spluttered and tried to get back up. But the force keeping me down was too strong._

_"Warren. Stop." I was startled to recognise Will's voice. _

_I focused on the person pinning me down. It was definitely him._

_"Will! Get off!" I yelled, "I've got to save her!"_

_His head turned for a second and the moonlight caught his eyes, showing the tears built up in them._

_"Warren," He tried, "There's no point. She's-" His voice caught, "She's gone."_

_I tried to throw him off of me but he just tightened his grip. _

_"Will. Please! I've got to go help her!" I yelled, trying to kick him off._

_"You'll just make it worse for yourself." He hiccuped, "You don't want to see that."_

_Somewhere, I knew it. I knew she was gone. But I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't let myself believe it._

_I thrashed harder, trying to knock him off of me._

_"She's not! We can still help her!"_

_"Warren. I'm not going to let you see that." Will tried to calm me. "There's nothing we can do. You'll just make it harder for yourself."_

_I turned over to see his hand pinning down my arm. I heated my arm up and he let go instinctively. I leaped up and started running to the end of the cliff. But I only got a few metres before being pulled forcefully back to the ground._

_"Get off of me!" I yelled._

_"Warren, you were quite literally about to run straight off a cliff."_

_I didn't care. I would do it for her._

_He saw me looking at his hand this time and let go before I could heat up._

_"I'm sorry, Warren," He said, drawing back a fist, "This is for your own good."_

_His forceful fist struck my face._

_I blacked out instantly._

* * *

_Will POV_

_I had flown him to a hotel after he blacked out, as far away from that cliff as possible. _

_I didn't know what to do. I couldn't let him go see her body. Seeing her body after a drop like that would have been worse for him. He blames himself for her death, I'm sure. And seeing a mangled form of her would only add to his guilt. And it wouldn't help his mourning. Or mine._

_Once I had punched him, I had stayed on top of that cliff for a long time. A long time after the helicopter had left. It felt like something had been physically ripped out of you to see something like that happen to a friend. I wasn't sure how Warren could go see her after her fall. I could barely watch her falling._

_I was envious of Warren being unconscious. I wished I hadn't have to have gone through that. But I knew he would wake up and go through it anyway. Worse even. Because he loved her. I could tell. I knew Miya knew he liked her, but she'll never be able to know how much. And he would never be able to tell her._

_It was only when I could see the sun rising did I fling Warren over my shoulder and fly to the closest city. To the hotel._

_I had only just put Warren onto a bed when my phone vibrated. I went into the corridor and looked at the battered screen. Layla._

_**Is everything okay?**_

_I couldn't text her about it. I'm not sure I could____even text her about it, not now. I didn't want to have to write it down._

_**I'll tell you about it later.**_

_Her reply came quickly, __**Are you coming back soon?**_

_**Yeah. We'll be back by morning.**_

_**Is she coming back with you? Do you have her?**_

_My hands started to shake. We had failed. We had failed to bring her back home. To save her life._

_When I didn't reply for a while she texted again. __**Do you want some backup?**_

_My hands fumbled with the keypad, dialling the wrong letter in numerous amounts of times._

_**No. We don't need backup. See you tomorrow x**_

_I pocketed the phone and went back into the room. _

_Warren was awake. He didn't so much as blink when I walked in. He was lying on his bed, like I had left him, and looking out the glass double door's that lead to the balcony. His hands were carelessly at his sides and his face was dirty._

_"That wasn't a dream, was it?" He mumbled._

_I moved to sit down in an armchair across from the room. I didn't answer._

_"Is your nose okay?" I asked pathetically._

_He didn't seem to realise I had asked him anything. His eyes were distant as they looked into the sky. They started to glass over._

_My throat grew tight and I coughed. "Um. I booked us a flight I didn't think we would want to fly back." I tried. " I…. I didn't think we would sleep much so I booked it for a few hours time."_

_His remote expression didn't waver. _

_"Come on." I said, getting up, "We should get to the airport."_

_"We can't leave her." He murmured._

_I turned to him. "We'll get someone to get her when we get back to America." I said quietly, "We won't be able to find her now anyway. It was dark when we went out. The forrest was huge."_

_He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. It was only now I noticed he was holding her sweater - the one the Pack were using to track her with, the one she left at his house._

_"Do you want anything to eat?" I asked meekly. He didn't respond. "Come on, Warren. You haven't eaten anything in a day."_

_He opened his eyes and kept them on the ceiling. "I'm not hungry." He whispered._

_I went over to the mini fridge in the corner of the room. "Drink? There's only orange juice left."_

_He smiled. Not a nice smile, a sad one. As if to keep himself from breaking._

* * *

_Warren POV_

_A few hours later I ended up at the airport. _

_I was standing in line with Will at the gate, ready to get our tickets analysed and be let through._

_The airport was so normal. It angered me. It was the same as any airport. The strangers all walked past on their daily business. The normality of it all angered me. Their world hadn't changed. But mine had. Mine was crashing and burning around me._

_My fist was throbbing. I had been clutching the blue sweater as tightly as I could since I had woken up. I didn't think I would ever let go._

_She couldn't be gone. A side of me still refused to believe it._

_And it was my fault. It was my fault she was taken. It was my fault she was held captive. It was my fault she died._

_As we shuffled forward in the queue, closer to the plane home, I thought of how we met._

_I thought of seeing a beautiful girl I hadn't seen before sitting on my seat in the bus, getting picked to help her with her powers in skills development. Making guns in Mad Science while she annoyingly tapped her pencil. Helping her with her awful Science homework, her helping me with my math. Fighting with her in Save the Citizen. I remembered seeing her wrapped up in an inane amount of blankets when she was ill and holding onto my arm for warmth when I took them away. And holding her hand when she was talking about me wanting to be a smurf. I thought of how worried I was when she was held at gunpoint at the back of a restaurant. And when I kissed her for the first time that night._

_There were only a few people in front of us when I thought of what it would be like without her when I got back home. I thought of how bored I was before the day she set foot inside the doors of Sky High. _

_There was one person in front of us in the queue. Then we would have our tickets looked at and sent through to the plane. To home._

_When I left Will's house last, I thought of this moment. But I imagined it with Parker at my side._

_I failed. And it cost her life._

_And I was just about to betray her again. Stepping on that plane._

_I had to go to find her. I could't just leave her lying in the woods. Even if it was just her body._

_"Ur… Señor. Could I se you're ticket." _

_I looked at the plump lady sitting behind the desk. _

_I couldn't leave her._

_I ducked under the rope that shaped the queue and headed for the door._

_"Warren!" I heard Will call, chasing after me, "Warren!"_

_I ignored him and kept on walking until I was back outside._

_I was going to find her._

* * *

**A/N. ;( **

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**Vampireprincessofempire - Thank you. And yeah - you're pretty good. Any guesses on Miya? If she survives? How she survives if she does? Xxxx**

**CatofFire- Ha ha! I know this chapter probably wasn't worthwhile. Oh well, next chapter should be better hopefully. And thank you! Xxx**

**Bookworm210- Mwhahaha. I can be evil with my cliffhangers…. xxxx**


	32. Ill Guest

**A/N Sorry to leave you so long without knowing if she survived or not, but here is your answer...**

**Enjoy... Xxx**

**Wild Ways**

**Ill Guest**

* * *

Miya POV

_"Mariana, an older sister of one of my friends, jumped off that once." He nodded at the cliff that towered high above us. "She said she still couldn't feel the bottom."_

_"Whoa, She has guts."_

_"No. She's mad. And was drunk."_

_"Oh. Was she alright?"_

_"Without a scratch."_

That's what was going through my mind as I stepped off of the helicopter. I had seen the shimmer of moonlight reflecting off of the lake through the window when the helicopter had tilted. If there hadn't been a moon, I wouldn't have even known there was a lake it was so dark. That's why it was perfect. The guards would think I committed suicide.

It was tense, waiting for the helicopter to fly to the right spot while the guards were running at me. But I waited for the right moment before looking up and closing my eyes, inching my feet to the edge until my toes gripped the sides. Then I fell.

My insides felt like they were going to fall out as I plummeted down to the ground. My hair whipped my face and my heart was hammering in my chest. The soles of my bare feet were hit by the cold wind rocketing against me.

I opened my eyes. It was dark, and my vision was blurry. But I could see what looked like a fire, or a large star. It was bright and moving fast across a flat stretch of rock. I closed them again, I was starting to see things.

I flew past the cliff with the orange light. The cliff Mariana had jumped off.

It felt like being thrown into the centre of a tornado. Howling winds tearing at me, trying to snatch me.

I opened my eyes just before my pointed toes hit the water. It looked like a rising mirror, flat and hard. I was thrown at it and struck the surface. I broke through the glass of the mirror and fell into the dark, suffocating cold behind it. I sunk helplessly, thrashing around in the water until I could no longer hold my breath. I sucked in a lungful of freezing water. My body was bursting with pain from the fall. There was a loud, high and insurmountable humming noise in my ears, blocking out everything. I opened my eyes, trying to find which way was up and which was down, but all there was was darkness. Darkness and the black and gold stars that swam behind my eyes.

The cold water ran through my body and in my veins like blood. It mingled with the dancing pain that covered my body and stopped me moving, stopped me thinking.

Hands reached out of the darkness and drew me toward them. They burnt on my skin. I looked for their owner. But, before I could make out the figure in front of me, the darkness shut my eyes for me.

* * *

I was flat on my back, a sharp object poking into my spine. I gasped for air but felt water. I rolled on my side and spluttered for air, coughing out the water. I panted once I had got rid of most of the water, taking as much air as I could.

I rolled back onto my back, my head spinning and my vision like a kaleidoscope. The smell of river water surrounded me, mixed with the smell of dust and bark.

Someone who was leaning over me now leaned back, panting, then laughed in relief. A masculine laugh.

I turned my head to look at him. I saw a face with dark hair, my vision was fading, going too fast to be able to focus on who it was.

My head lolled back and my eyes shut again.

* * *

The light burnt my eyelids, asking for me too open them. I was in a stone room turned orange from the spilling light of the sunset. I lay on a bed with a duvet and what looked like a homemade quilt - tattered and old. There was a rug on the floor and posters on the wall above a desk with a laptop sitting on it.

I sat up, my bones felt rusty. As if they hadn't moved for decades. My cuts and bruises ached and throbbed intensely at the movement.

"Where am I?" I mumbled then coughed. My throat felt as if someone had put a grater to it.

"Have this." Someone said, then put the ridge of a glass to my lips and tilted it slowly, pouring the soothing liquid down my throat. I gulped it down, not getting enough. It took me longer than usual to understand what was said, it was in spanish.

"So you're English?" The voice said, I tried to turn my head to look at the boy but he had a hand on the back of my head so I could drink. "I knew you weren't from around here. I just didn't realise how far away."

He gently released my head once I had finished the water and put the glass on the bedside table. I looked up at the boy. He was tanned bronze and had dark, disheveled hair that covered his forehead. His dark eyes were staring at me, "You look better." He said, then retreated and sat on a chair a few feet away from the bed.

"American. Not English." I replied in Spanish, my voice still raspy bet better. "And where am I?" I asked, looking around again.

"In my room." He replied. It was only now I recognised who it was, Marc. The Spanish boy I met the last time I came. "We called the hospital, but they were a bit busy."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"A few hours after I found you, there was an earthquake in the city." He explained, "We are far from the city and the hospital and are lower priority unless someone is dying. But it doesn't matter, we have Grams."

"Grams?" I asked.

"She's not actually my grandma. She's my great aunt." He said, "She was a doctor in the war. The closest person we have to a doctor in town."

He moved to turn on the light switch by his door.

"She said you're a fast healer. That you're doing well. But it might take a while to heal completely." He said, turning back around to look at me, "You must be hungry. Shall I get my sister to make some food and-"

A nauseating stab to my stomach gripped me. He saw it on my face and rushed over to me.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're okay." He said, kneeling down by the bed, "I'm going to get my sister. I'll be right back."

* * *

It felt good to have some food inside of me after so long. Well - what seemed like so long. Now I new the dates, I worked out that I had only stayed with ASHA for a few nights. It had felt like weeks.

Marc's sister, Emma was seven. She didn't seem to be aware of what my injuries were or have a thought of what I might of gone through. She just thought of me as a guest - or another sister. She got very attached very fast.

I knew Marc had a thought of what I might of gone through by the way he looked at me, as if I had died and come back to life with the marks to prove it. All of the cheekiness from last time had gone and been replaced with sympathy. And I would have some questions I would need to answer later. But Emma was good company because she didn't look at me as if I might die at any second. She had come in to bring me some food then sat on the end of my bed chatting away. She had gone through all of her best friend's names and what they were like, told me about the social ways of her year group, drawn a map of her school. Then she ran to her room and come back with an overflowing armful of dolls and stuffed toys, telling me all of their names and laying them out individually onto my bed in the time it took me to eat everything she had given me.

"Emma." A short, skinny women stood in the doorway. She had the same dark hair as Marc and Emma and the same bronze skin and dark eyes. Her hair was cut short and she wore a vest and jeans. She could only be their mother. "Time for bed, sweetie."

Emma's jaw dropped, "No, no, no. I have…" She trailed off as she squinted at the clock above the door, "one minute."

The women turned to me and gave me a warm smile, "Hello, Lena. My name is Elena. I'm Marc and Emma's mom. Please feel free to ask me for anything. And stay as long as you need, honey. I'm always fine with having another member to the house." She walked forward and took my empty water glass, "Gram's is having a rest now but when she wake's up I'm sure she'll want to have a chat."

"Thank you, Elena." I said gratefully, "Thanks for letting me stay at you're house. And-"

"Uh, uh, uh." Elena tutted, "You get back here, missy. Bed time."

Emma's head poked out from the closet in the corner of the room. "But, but, but, you and Marc and Grams get to stay up and play with Lena. Why can't I?"

"Because it's your bed time. And Lena's sick, sweetie. We won't be playing anything with her. And neither will you until she feels better." Elena said sternly.

Emma pouted and went over to my bed to gather her toys. "Can I say goodnight to Lena?" She asked.

Elena nodded, "Quickly."

Emma crouched down beside my head, struggling to keep all her toys in her arms. "Goodnight Lena," She whispered so her mom couldn't hear, "I hope you feel better in the morning, and then we can play together when I come back from school." She reached into her pile of stuffed toys with one hand and pulled out a scruffy, tattered old rabbit with large, floppy ears, and carried on whispering as if she were telling me her biggest secret "This is Mr Flopper. He will help you get better, he's a doctor." She said before putting it into my hand .

"Thank's Emma." I whispered back, smiling at the little rabbit in the palm of my hand, "I'll see you tomorrow."

She reached an arm over me and lay her head on my chest as a hug, "Goodnight Lena."

Then she got up and walked out of the room.

Elena was gone but in her place was Marc standing in the doorway.

"Sorry, I must be taking you're bed." I apologised, looking around the room.

"It's fine, " he shrugged, "the sofa can be comfy." He walked in and put the water glass Elena had taken out to refill on the bedside table.

"What happened?" I asked, "How did I get here?"

He sighed and moved to sit down on the armchair, "I carried you here."

"Why?" I asked.

"Why? Because after I pulled you out of the water and bought you back to life, you flopped unconscious again." He said with a smile.

"Bought me back to life?" I raised a brow.

"You weren't breathing." He said, his smile vanishing. "You gave me a heart attack. You're just lucky we learned CPR last year in PE."

So I actually _had _died and come back to life.

I looked down and fiddled with the long ears of Mr Flopper, "Thanks." I said lamely.

He shrugged. "What I'm more concerned about is how you got all of these other injuries. Did those people on the cliff do it to you?"

I frowned, "What people? In the helicopter?"

"Yeah, the people on the cliff." He said, "What do you mean in the helicopter? Were you in it? I thought it was just a helicopter flying really low."

"How do you know there were people on the cliff?" I asked.

"Once the helicopter left, I could here them. They were laughing. I just thought they were really drunk or something. I couldn't see them, the cliff was too high. But I could definitely hear some faint chuckling or something."

I thought of the orange light as I fell. I wasn't just seeing things, "Warren." I whispered under my breath.

He had been there. He had seen me fall. He had watched me die. They weren't laughing, they were crying. Oh god, they thought I was dead. They didn't know there was a lake down there.

"What about the helicopter? What's that got to do with anything?" He asked.

"You know the last time I was here, I got that memory stick from the rock," He nodded, "Well, some people want me for it. I told them it was still there, but it wasn't. And I jumped into the lake to get away from them."

"You jumped in from the helicopter," His eyes widened, "And they… caused all these injuries?"

I looked back down to Mr Flopper, "I'm sorry I had to bring you into this." I said, "How long ago was all of this anyway? How long was I unconscious for?"

"A few days." He said, "Grams said it was part of your exhaustion as well. But who were the guys I heard on the cliff?" He asked.

I looked back up to him, my brows furrowed, "I… I think they were my friends. I think they had come after me and watched me jump… and now they think I'm

dead" I said quietly, "But so do the people who want the memory stick. So that's good."

"So… are you like a spy or something?" He asked.

I giggled, "No. Just a girl who got caught up in a mess her parents were in."

* * *

**A/N. She's alive… Surprise… not that many of you didn't already guess that or anything. ;)**

* * *

**~Review Reply~**

**Yay Warren - Wow. Thank you for all of your reviews! They made me laugh Xxxx**

**Sarafinja - Thank you. They didn't quite get there, but oh well. Xxx**

**Vampireprincessofempire- She doesn't have her powers back yet. And thank you! Xxx**

**Amaya-Touketsu- I know, poor him. And not quite but nearly! Xxxx**

**CatofFire- I didn't want you to hate me so I let her survive. He he. Thanks for reviewing, Xxxx**

**Bookworm210 - Ha ha. So basically, if she dies, I die. Okay. I will just have to not let that happen. She survives! Xxx**

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	33. Unfair Secret

**A/N. Hey guys! I'm going on holiday on tuesday for three weeks (really excited!) and I don't know if that means I can still update or if I can't. Depends on how much down time there is. I think there might be but just in case there isn't and I don't update in a while, it's not because I've given up on the fic - it's because im on holiday. Just thought I would let ya know.**

**Enjoy!..x**

**Wild Ways**

**Unfair Secret**

* * *

Miya POV

I had talked with Marc on wether to call the gang and tell them I was alive, we had decided it would be safer for me and them if they didn't know for a while. If ASHA thought I could be alive, they would go to them first. If the gang thought I was dead too, they would probably believe them.

Marc and Emma had school throughout the day and Elena had to work at their family shop. Grams came in every now and then to check up on me and remind me on how well I was doing before going back home. So my days mainly consisted of flipping through the comic books on Marc's shelf or playing computer games. In the evenings, when Marc and Emma came back, we would play Monopoly or Cluedo or another board game. I tried to play chess with Emma once, she won every time.

After just about three weeks of staying at their house, they had already made me feel like part of their family. Well - the part that no one knew about. I told them not to tell anyone I was staying with them incase Ash was looking around.

On the third friday of staying with them, Grams had just left and I didn't feel like reading another comic book. I rolled my legs out of bed and hobbled over to the middle of the room. I wanted to see if the injections had worn off, if I could use my powers. I felt my power in the front of my mind, like a heavy mist clogging my head, and spread it to my fingertips, to my feet. If it were a metal, it would feel rusty. It felt as if it hadn't been used in years. But it flowed until I felt it running with my blood, alongside it in my veins. Then I had to think of something, something strong enough to not be so weak with my injuries. I thought of an armadillo, with it's hard shell and strong exterior.

It was slow working, but I eventually started to shrink, the serum that was injected into me when I was held captive was still strongly within me though. And gradually, I was a foot tall with an arched back, an armadillo. It worked, but it was reluctant and uncomfortable, not as natural as it was without any serum. I could only hold it for a couple of seconds before I sprung back into my human form, It was like trying to stretch a strong elastic band but it becoming to hard to hold on to and springing back.

I stood in the middle of the room, panting and out of breath. I moved to the bathroom that was just outside of Marc's room. Standing, looking into the mirror, my black eye was hardly visible at all now and my cuts had scabbed over. The small cuts that ran up my arm had almost vanished and my two broken fingers were healing quickly and weren't nearly as sore. Lifting my shirt up a bit revealed my bruised ribs and abdomen as a gross purple splodge, but it still was much of an improvement than last week. Supers healed much faster than humans so I wasn't surprised at how fast I was recovering.

I fingered my hair. The dye was growing out so half of it was a dirty blonde while the top half was a dark brown. I reached for the hairbrush Emma had given me before looking at the reflection of the tangled hair again, at the impossible matts it had formed. My hands paused, the brush hovering inches away from my hair, I wasn't going to get anything through that. I put the brush down and grabbed the pair of scissors lying at the edge of the basin. The dyed-blonde bit started just at my shoulder and was in a perfect line around my head. I started cutting just above it.

* * *

_Layla POV_

_Warren was sat back at his lunch table. He hadn't been talking to us after he came back from Spain. He had been looking for her for days until his mother got worried and bought him back._

_Her death was announced to the school a few days after he came back. None of us had taken it well. But Warren especially. He had thought, when he couldn't find her body that there was a possibility of her survival. But three weeks later now and I think it was only starting to settle into his mind that she was gone._

_He had gone back to being a lone wolf. Sitting alone everywhere, not talking to anyone. He sat in Miya's seat in Mad Science and far away from us in Save the Citizen. I think we bought back memories he didn't want to think of._

_He was going back to being the Warren Peace everyone moved away from, or made sure they didn't walk into in the corridor. The one that sat at the back of the bus and everyone feared. It's amazing how much she had changed him._

_I wasn't coping with Miya's death very well at all. When it was announced in the school gym, it wasn't the first time I had heard but I still ran out and stayed in the girls bathroom with Mag for the rest of the day. Even the little things, like seeing Ria taking her place in Save the Citizen with Clove. It just all add up to the fact that she really was gone. And I didn't want her to be gone._

_The gang wasn't the same as before. And I had a feeling it never would be again. We had combined with the Pack when Ria and Ethan had started dating. Being with them was kind of awkward since we didn't really ever understand what each other were saying. But they were nice and great company. And Ethan was happy with Ria. But, I'm not sure how enthusiastic Ulysses is about their relationship. He kinda hated Ethan now._

_I was walking in the rain back home from the bus one day. The naked trees were budding little green leaves with flowering tips, the grass was getting greener and little daffodil saplings were blooming in groups, lining the roads like a yellow pencil line drawn beside the sidewalk. Spring was growing over the winter. It was odd to think I only knew Miya at the start of the winter. It seemed longer, she had grown on me so quickly. And now she would never see spring at Maxville._

_It was only when my eyes travelled across the road sign did I realise I had been walking the wrong way. I looked up and, across the road from me stood the tall, grey building of the orphanage. It didn't look like it had changed on the outside, the paint was still picked away at some places, windows had two planks of wood nailed across it, the roof had missing tiles that were shattered into the garden floor at the bottom. The garden itself was brown, despite the downpour, no green to sparkle in the dew that still stuck to the dying leaves. Silk webs of spiders were caught up in the overgrown network of weeds. It looked the same as it always had on the outside, but I knew the inside had changed. A missing member would not go unthought of in a place like that._

_I crossed the road as the rain rebounded off my green raincoat and reached over the metal gate to flick up the lock. It creaked open and I walked down the wet concrete path to the large oak doors. On my way the grass grew greener and the flowers budded and presented colour. By the time I was at the door, the garden was a an emerald green with no weeds but an array of sunflowers, daffodils and white peonies - her favourite._

_ The lobby was clean but… empty. The usual sound of giggling girls or playful screams had gone, replaced by the silence that came with emptiness. No one was there, not even Ms Evison hiding in her cupboard behind her desk._

_I moved to the staircase and started to walk up, the wood moaning and creaking beneath me and the rain pattered on the roof. On the top landing, Miya's door stood in the shadows in front of me. I reached for the doorknob and it opened obediently. _

_Again - no one was there. I moved slowly towards Miya's bed. Nothing had moved, it was as if she never left at all. Her clothes were sprawled mercilessly on the floor and bed and came out of half closed draws. On her bedside table was a water glass with an inch of un-drunken water and a picture frame with all of us - the original gang, with Miya and Warren and no Pack - standing in the dolled up gym for valentines ball, all giving cheesy grins in our dresses and tux's with arms wrapped around each other. Another framed picture was of her, Mag and I in the cafeteria all pulling funny faces with bolognese around our mouths and finished bowls of pasta in front of us. I remembered Zach saying that boys could eat faster than girls, and - naturally - leading to a pointless competition of who could finish their plates faster. We still lost but "only because you're respectably fatter than we are which, naturally, gives your immunity to being full," - as Mag had put it. I smiled ruefully at the memory, putting the picture back down. _

_I was about to turn around when I spotted something reflect in the light in her half-opened draw, buried underneath her shirts. I put my hand in gingerly and pulled it out. Another picture. It wasn't framed like the last two, just printed. The edges were folded behind it, cancelling out whatever the background was and only leaving a picture of her and Warren standing next to each other. They were both looking at each other and smiling. Her hair was blown around her face, indicating the strong wind, and had the odd snowflake in it. Warren, of corse, had no snow on him but it was stuck to Miya's clothes and decorated the background. I felt tears smart in my eyes as I smiled down at the picture. I stuffed it in my coat pocket and looked up at the ceiling, trying to avoid anymore tears._

_I turned around, back to the door when I noticed someone sitting on their bed. _

_"Bella?" I asked, my voice cracking._

_She didn't turn around, or make a sign that let me know she acknowledged me at all. So I walked over and stood in front of her. She was looking forward, her chin up. Her cheeks were blotchy and her eyes were red and bulged out from the obvious tears she had cried recently. Despite her state, she still looked flawlessly beautiful, her blonde hair slightly tangled and her dark eyebrows sad. Although she was obviously upset, she was trying to keep a calm look. But you could only tell how much of the calm was fake when you looked down and saw her fist was bright red and white at the fingertips from clutching her duvet so hard. _

_I looked around, "Where is everyone?" I asked quietly, afraid if I asked too loudly she might break._

_"In the garden." She said. "They're all saying goodbye to her."_

_I stared at her but she refused to look at me directly, only forward as if her eyes had frozen. "Why aren't you with them?" _

_She swallowed soundlessly, "She wouldn't want me to be there. I don't deserve it."_

_I sat down next to her on her bed, "You will only hate yourself if you don't go," I said calmly, "you were one of her closest friends. You deserve to be there as much as anyone."_

_She turned her head to look at me. Her bloodshot eyes looked unnatural on her pale face, "You don't understand." She said, "It's my fault."_

_I didn't know what to say. Everyone thought it was their fault one way or another, but in the end they would have done it to her anyway. She would've done the same thing if all of us had undone the things we did that made it our fault. So instead, I put a hand on her arm, "Doesn't mean she wouldn't want you to be there." _

_She looked down at her knees before slowly rising to her feet and rubbing her eyes. She only looked back when she was at the door and nodded to me. Then she vanished, the door clicking shut behind her._

* * *

_I knew where he would be. He didn't go anywhere else much, only school then back home. His mom was worried about him, I was worried about him. He didn't speak to anyone much. I think it was one think to hear about her death, but a whole other thing to see it._

_I walked up to his porch and tapped on the door. Sarah opened it and smiled warmly at me, "Hello my dear, I haven't seen you in a while." I smiled back at her, "I suppose you are here to see my boy."_

_I nodded, "If he's in."_

_She nodded again, "Yes, yes. He's in. I'm quite glad you're here actually. I think he needs some company." She said, stepping to the side as an invite. I smiled again and walked through. "He's upstairs, in his room."_

_"Thank you, Ms Peace." I said, starting up the stairs._

_"Sarah." She corrected. _

_I nodded and smiled back at her before continuing up the stairs. The landing was dark and the doorway to Warrens room looked like it might lead to the stairwell to the underworld. I tapped it lightly. When there was no reply, I twisted the doorknob open and stepped into his room._

_The light wasn't on but daylight spilled through the windows and lit his room up with an orange glow. His room was inexplicably tidy. Warren himself was sat at his desk in the corner of the room, writing something intently onto a piece of paper. His laptop was on in front of him with a Wiki page splayed on it._

_"Warren?" _

_He turned his head so he could see me. "Oh. It's you." _

_I smiled unsurely. "Hey. I haven't seen you in a while." I started._

_He bit his lip and bowed his head before turning his back on me, continuing with his homework._

_I nodded, looking awkwardly down at my wellies. It seemed like such a long time ago since I last had a conversation with him. He had changed so much in these past few weeks. "Um…" I stuttered for something to say, "We all really miss you. How are you doing?"_

_He looked up at the computer screen and back to his writing. Then he turned to look at me exasperatedly, "Look, Lay. I appreciate you coming down here. I just don't really feel like talking."_

_I nodded again, I understood, but stepped forwards, "I just thought you would want this." He looked at me curiously then down at the soggy piece of paper I was holding out. "I went over to the orphanage earlier. I found this in her draw."_

_He got up, his brows knitted, and looked at the piece of paper in my hands, taking it gingerly with his fingertips. It was wet from the rain and a bit smudged at the bottom. But it was still comprehensible. _

_"There were other pictures, but I thought you would like to know she had that one."_

_He carefully unfolded the bits that were curled under. It unravelled to be a picture of a sunset with them just in the corner. The person taking the picture was taking it of the pink light of the sun reflecting off the snow. But she had hidden that bit to only show the two of them laughing at each other._

_Warren laughed ruefully, staring regrettably down at the picture. "Where-" He coughed and cleared his throat, "Where did you find this again?"_

_"In the draw of her bedside table."_

_He clutched it and looked back up at me, trying a smile - the first I had seen him smile in a long time, even if it was tried, "Thanks, Lay."_

_I smiled back at him and turned around. I was nearly at his door when I spun back, "You know, we do really miss you." I said, "Maybe you could hang with us again sometime?"_

_He turned around, "Thanks for the offer." He paused, "I just… I don't know if I can."_

_"Well, you're always welcome back." I reminded him._

_He nodded, "Say hi to everyone from me."_

_I bowed my head and turned back to the door._

* * *

**A/N Poor Warren. ;( Miya's being kinda harsh not telling them, but it's for their protection - incase that wasn't clear.**

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**~Review Reply~**

**CatofFire- He he... Voila! And sorry if I don't update for a while (if you read the top A/N), I'm not sure what we are doing exactly. But I think I can update soon. Xxxx**

**Bookworm210- Yeah - that was hopefully the kinda impression. I kinda suck at showing them being upset but... Oh well, something to improve on I guess. Xxx**

**pmollymay- Aw, thank you so much! Xxx**

**vampireprincessofempire- Yeah, she lives! Yeah, I made Marc for this sole purpose... but it was all kinda a sketch back then. Xxxx**


	34. Revelation

**A/N. Sorry for the late update. There really isn't much internet where I am on holiday. And this was done on an IPad - all at very different moments. So it's probably not very good and might not make sense. But I tried, I will fix it when I get back home.**

**Enjoy XX **

**Wild Ways**

**Revelation**

* * *

Miya POV

Two months now.  
I was a lot skinnier than before, my fever hadn't let me eat much. My hair  
felt odd being so short as I combed through it nervously with my fingers. I  
looked back at Marc.  
"I don't know." I said uncertainly.  
He looked at me steadily, "Look, Lena. You already know you can stay here  
for as long as you want. None of us have a problem with that." He said,  
putting a hand on my shoulder, "But you have friends and family to get back  
to. I don't want to keep you from them."  
"But what if Ash-"  
"Ash would have done it by now. Its been so long. They must think your  
dead. They wont bother your family." He said confidently, "The only person  
bothering them right now is you. Not them."  
I looked away from him and to the mirror behind him. My cheekbones were  
more angular than usual. A faint scar ran just along my hairline at the  
side of my face. My hair was too short and a dark brown again with a bit  
of blonde at the bottom. I looked like a completely different person  
"We would love you to stay. I'm pretty sure Emma's convinced you're her  
sister. But I'm sure there are other people who would like to see you."

Warren POV  
Save the Citizen seemed like the most idiotic game in the world to me now.  
There was no timer in reality. In reality, the dummy wouldn't have a rope.  
It was a pointless excersise which misguided it's students.  
I remembered braking the record for the longest reigning champion, I had  
saved that dummy more times than I could count with Will at my side. I used to get excited to get called up and out of  
the bleachers. But, the real thing wasn't quite as exciting.  
I sat at the back of the bleachers, enveloped in the shadows at the top,  
watching the game subsidedly. They were all the same lately. Ria would  
boss Clove around, then turn into a wolf and go fend off the villains.  
Clove would stand there and do what she was told - which was nothing. Ria  
hadn't let her use her powers since the first match they played together.  
I looked back down at the match below me briefly, just in time to see Ria  
leap up and rip the rope holding onto the dummy in her teeth, pulling it  
from the ceiling and finishing the game. The villains ran to  
the bench outside of the arena to chuck their armour off and give to the  
new villains for the next game.  
I looked up at the gang and the Pack. They were sitting on the opposite  
side of the bleachers to me, amongst the rest of the student body. But they  
weren't exactly hard to spot. Layla and Will were sitting next to each  
other, holding hands. Zach was on his phone and Ethan was still wildly  
cheering on Ria for her last win, to which Ria smiled at and blew him a  
kiss from down in the arena. There was only five of them now - of the  
original gang anyway, I guess the Pack were a part of it now. But it still  
seemed smaller.  
I looked back down to the arena. The new villains were whispering tactics  
and Clove and Ria were stood at the other end, already knowing their  
tactics - which I assumed was for Clove to watch and Ria to improvise. They  
said nothing until Clove spoke up from behind Ria.  
"I think it's silly not letting me play." She said calmly, not as an  
argument. More of a statement. A fact she was sharing with her partner.  
Ria spun on her heeled boots to glare at her unworthy colleague as if she  
were looking at the gum on the bottom of her shoe, "What do you mean?" She  
asked spitefully, "You _are_ doing something you moron, you're looking out to  
make sure no one sneeks up on me. We've been through this."  
Clove looked at her and blinked her long eyelashes passively, "I mean  
letting me use my powers. It's just a waste if-,"  
Ria laughed, "Your power? Your power is about as useful to this game as a  
teaspoon is."  
Clove frowned, "But my elves-"  
"Are non-existant. They aren't real Clove." She said slowly, Elongating  
each syllable to suggest that Clove didn't know this already.  
My eyes wandered from the oncoming fight and to the people in the  
bleachers. No one really watched Save the Citizen. It was more of a social  
event with a match going on incase you were bored. Well, it was like that  
if none of the matches were exciting. But the fight was attracting some  
attention, less than half of the student body was watching the two girls  
talk. The rest of them were gossiping or texting.  
My eyes landed on the door at the other side of the gym, just as it  
swung open.  
A girl walked out of it. She dark hair tied up in a loose bun balancing on the top of her head and wore large sunglasses that hit the majority of her face. She was short and  
skinny and wore faded, tattered jeans and a tank top with a black leather jacket that was too big for her.  
I watched the new girl as she glided across the room. Her back was slightly  
forward and her shoulders a little tense, as if she were trying hard to  
keep her back upright. She circled around the arena, I thought she was  
going to sit somewhere in the bleachers but - to my surprise - she opened  
the plastic door that lead her into the arena.  
By now, she had caught nearly everyone's attention as she strode across the  
sandy arena, right towards Clove and Ria, who both had their backs on her  
and still fighting.  
"You're such a joke, you little blonde headed freak! You have no friends,  
no one here actually likes you. Theres like, three people who actually know  
your name." Ria snarled to Clove, who was trying to remain calm but had  
tears building up in her eyes.  
"I do." The new girl said. She was only a few metres behind them now. Ria  
spun menacingly on her heels, creating a cloud of dust that hovered around  
her feet, to glare at the girl. The girl who's voice I recognised. "_And_ I  
like her. And I believe your finished here."  
Ria laughed and walked up to the girl, to size her up threateningly. Ria  
towered over the new girl, but the girl still remained unfazed by her.  
I squinted at the short brunette. I knew her. I was almost certain. But I  
didn't recognise her, at least not from this distance.  
"What do you mean, finished here?" She growled.  
"I mean," I definitely recognised her voice, just from where? "You're done  
here." The girl said sweetly before waving her hands at her then to the  
bleachers, "Shoo."  
She sounded so much like... This was unfair. Not again. I vigorously shrugged my bag onto my shoulder and stood up abruptly.  
"Yeah? And why's that?" Ria growled, her fangs emerging from her gums.  
"Because." The brunette said. I hung my head and hurried down the stairs.  
No, no, no. I had to leave. "Clove's my partner."  
Her partner? I stopped and looked up, not at her but at the gang. Will  
looked confused and Layla was watching with tears smart in her eyes,  
holding Maj's hand who was squinting down at the scene below. It wasnt just  
me.  
I spun back to the girl in panic.  
"What do you mean you pigmy little twit." Ria shouted.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Boomer shouted, " What is going on?"  
Ria pointed an accusative finger at the girl who had the whole school  
watching her. "She- she just paraded in here as if the girl owned the place  
and told me to bugger off!" Ria steamed.  
"And... Who are you?" Boomer asked.  
The girl smiled and put her hand to her head, reaching for her hair. She  
tugged at the hair tie that was holding in its messy bun until it came  
loose and she shook her head. Her dark brown hair hung just at her  
shoulders. The tips were blonde.  
My breathing stopped as I watched the girl in awe. I stared at her as she  
pulled the sunglasses off her face and continued to smile.  
Parker.

* * *

Miya POV

The whole room was silent. I refused to look at anyone from the crowed,  
only at Boomer. He was the only person I could look at. I tried hard to look calmer than I felt. But, mentally, I was breaking down.  
I tried to slow my breathing as I looked steadily at Boomer. I feared the  
tears that were pricking at the back of my eyes if I were to look at anyone  
else.  
In the corner of my vision, I saw someone walk into the arena. I turned to  
them to see Nurse Spex hurrying across the sandy floor towards me. She  
grabbed my arm, smiled at me briefly and pulled me out of the arena and out  
of the gym doors.  
I turned to look at her but she was walking so fast down the halls I didnt  
have time to utter a word before I was dragged into her office and pushed  
to sit down on the bed. For a lady at her age she was surprisingly strong.  
She took a seat to sit opposite me and smiled at me.  
"How- how are you my dear?" She whispered disbelievingly.  
"Im good thanks." I said unsurely, "Much better now I've had time to...  
Heal."  
"But... But I - I dont understand." She stuttered. "How can you... Never  
mind. Im sure I'll hear about it soon enough, after the principle has heard.  
Does she even know your in school now?" I shook my head and looked at my  
feet. "Okay then. Now, how are you physically? Do you mind if i take a  
look?"  
I shook my head, she smiled and shot red beams from her eyes, inspecting my  
body up and down with her x-ray vision.  
She sat back as her eyes faded to their normal grey shade. "Hmm, you still  
seem bruised. And you haven't been letting you fingers heal. They're still  
broken. But you've been keeping good care of your-," she was cut off of  
speech as the door burst open.  
Principle Powers stood in the doorway with a couple of other faculty  
members behind her. She drew in a breath at the sight of me.  
"Oh my." She breathed. "It's true. But... How did you survive? That fall  
was impossible. And we had guessed far enough to know that they had done something to stabilise your shifting abilities."  
I smiled faintly, "It's a long story."  
She smiled in relief, as if finally realising

I was alive. "How are you?" Her eyes grew  
slightly damp as she walked up to me and gave me a light hug - so not to  
hurt me if I were injured.  
"But I'm sure your story can wait. I will talk to you about it later." She said as she drew away. "Go say hi to your friends. We can talk about this once they are relieved  
of their concern and confusion." She said, patting me on the back.  
I stood up to thank her and Nurse Spex and nod to the two teachers on  
the way out.  
"I only allowed your friends into the waiting room, although there were  
others who wish to see you also." Powers called as I reached for the door  
knob.  
I nodded and drew in a breath before opening the door.  
Before I had the chance to shut the door and look up, I was attacked by a  
blur of green and red, sending me slamming my back into the door.

"Layla, my back." I managed to let out even though I was sure Layla had  
squeezed all the air out of me. Layla loosened her grip slightly and  
stopped leaning on me.  
"I missed you so much." She choked into my hair. "I thought you were gone."  
I pulled back to look at her. "Im sorry, Lay." I apologised before being slammed back into the door as a heap of purple joined the hug.  
"Seriously guys," I tried as the air left me, "My back is still-"  
Magenta looked up at me and smiled hysterically, "Oh my god. I can't believe  
you're alive."  
"I missed you guys so much." I said and smiled back at them.  
They both let go of me as Zach came and made a goofy smile. "Its so good to see you, dude."  
He said as he hugged me. Which was a strange experience since he towered at  
least two feet above me. "I cant believe your-"  
Zach was pushed out the way by Ethan. "I am so sorry, Miya" He said as he  
drew me in for a hug. "I shouldn't have let you go with her. I am so, so, so sorry."  
It took me a while to recall what he meant. It was such a long time ago.  
"Its fine Ethan. Its not your fault." I assured, "And dont blame her  
either, she was made to do it." I made sure to add.  
He nodded regrettably and walked away to leave Will standing in front of me  
with a wide grin. He drew me into him and patted my back. "You have no idea  
how good it is too see you." He said into my hair, "we couldn't find you  
anywhere."  
"Thanks Will." I said as he drew back to smile at me and walk away.  
I turned back to where they were all standing and smiled, trying to keep it  
under control. "You have no clue how much I missed -."  
I was stopped by a tap on my shoulder. I spun around to look up at the  
figure in front of me. I could barely see who it was before I was pulled in  
for another, tighter hug. But I saw enough.  
I screamed and kicked him in the shin. As he drew back instinctively, I pulled  
back a fist and slammed it as hard as I could into his nose.  
"Whoa, whoa." I heard before strong arms wrapped around my waist and picked  
me up from behind. I yelled and thrashed in Wills arms as I was carried away. My anger was too overwhelming to be able to control it. "Miya!  
Miya! Stop it! Stop moving."  
I watched him as I was dragged away by Will. Just looking at his face  
made me want to rip it off his head. He was clutching his nose and staring  
at me as if I had shot him. And - to be honest - I wish I had.

* * *

**A/N Hey, I dont know why this is in such a wierd format and I dont know if it will continue to be in a wierd format once this is up. If it is, I will try to change it. But you'll have to bear with for the moment. Sorry.**

******Also - KoreanNinja mentioned that Clove reminded her of Luna from Harry Potter**, she _so_ reminds me of her now. Anyone else?

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**~Review Reply~**

**Vampireprincessofempire - I managed! Sorry it was kinda late. Thanks for reviewing! Xxxx**

**InDemiGodsWeTrust7-7-13- Heya. Like the new name. And yes, yes it was. Xxx**

**pmollymay - Thank you! I know, it was kinda harsh. Xxxx**

**CatofFire- He he, Thank you so much! And i did manage to update but am still on holiday and might take a while for the next one. Xxxx**

**KoreanNinja - have I already commented on how I love your pen name? Cos I do. (read bottom A/N) Xxx**

**Stinker126 - Ha ha, I wish. Well, she did half of it... Poor Warren. Xxx**

**Thank you for the reviews, and thank you for the reviews I know all the rest of you guys will send... If you like/hate this chapter/fic. Please review! X**


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